Lovers and Other Strangers
by DreamtDreamer
Summary: Reid has met an incredible girl, whom also is Hotch's cousin, she shows Spencer that anything is possible when love is felt, not only by the brain, but by the heart. Reid/OC HIATUS.
1. Laundry

She looks through the second floor window of her apartment, there's no heat in this place. It's a cold rainy day, despite the timing of the year, June. Her birthday was coming up soon, in two weeks to be exact, and she had been debating on whether or not to throw herself a party, to he it seemed so narcissistic. Just the image of her handing out invitations and telling people it would be great made her sick. Allegra Christoph was never a social person in the first place.

Soon, the small patter of the rain turned into lards pulses of water streaming down her window. Allegra who insisted on everyone calling her Ally struggled to close her door, and upon doing that she spotted a man, perhaps in his mid twenties open up a small black umbrella, the wind pushing him back. She felt bad for him, but there was no time to go and help, unless she wanted to jump off her balcony and break her foot.

The rain subsided later on in the day, Ally had realized this after she woke up from a short cat nap. Not minding the newly humid surroundings, she decided it would be a good time for a walk. She was always such a sunny person, bringing life to the faces of people who were sick in hospitals. That was her job, somewhat of an entertainer, but she never called herself that. She slipped on a red pair of flats and her iPod as she took the keys off the rack.

Meanwhile, the man who was recently outside had just closed his newly dried umbrella, his short brown hair still damp from the down pour. It was obscenely hot in his apartment, so he flung open the door ever so swiftly as he plopped down on his couch. Spencer Reid, a guy who wasn't too good with using his spare time, actually was relaxing. He'd convince himself that it was all needed.

Spencer was a slight oddball, and always was smarter than others got him into a truck load of trouble. He was never good with people. They'd always criticize him for being such a know it all, but it was the only way he could help, since he was never the strongest egg in the case. Time went by, show after show, movie after movie, and by the time he decided to get up, he had calculated that the time he'd spent sitting was four hours and two minutes.

It hit him suddenly, that on this rainy Sunday evening, he had forgotten to do his laundry. He glared at the television, then to the clock, praying that time would turn back.

"Uh oh..." he mumbled as he remembered that the laundry room closed at eleven at it was nine thirty.

The young doctor wheeled his laundry basket out into the hallway and lugged the soap with him. On the second floor, there was a laundry room, but it was recently out of service. So Spencer decided to go upstairs to the third floor.

From across the hall, he saw a woman, she had long brown hair, with straight bangs that covered up to her eyebrows. She was also carrying a laundry basket and getting into the elevator.

"Hold up!" the doctor pleads to her. She looks in his direction, making direct eye contact, he was then close enough to see blue eyes the shade of the sky on a good day.

She didn't seem to hear him. Spencer broke out into a quick stride, dragging the cart full of used shirts and socks with him.

One he caught up to the elevator, he has expected it to be closed, but instead, there the girl stood, her finger pressing idly on the Open Door button.

"Thanks." he sighed, out of breath.

"No problem," she said in a soft tone, "Which floor?"

"Um... Three."

"Oh! Me too."

"Why did you keep the door open for me? You don't even know me." Spencer said, watching the numbers pass by.

"I'm a bit of a claustrophobic... So I usually wait for someone to come along. I hate being in the elevator alone, it scares me to death." she sighed.

"Hm... Reminds me of someone." he reminisced, thinking of a past case.

"You know someone who's claustrophobic?" she asked him as the elevator doors opened.

"Well, let's just say it was a part of work." he laughed, beckoning for her to exit first.

"Oh really... Where do you happen to work?" she questioned, her laundry basket was being clutched by both hands and the soap was lying on top.

"For the Behavioral Analysis Unit, I -" he stopped in mid speech as she chuckled.

"Oh really... Do you happen to know Aaron Hotchner?"

"Yeah! He's a good friend of mine, actually." She smiled, her teeth were perfect, perhaps she had braces.

"He's my cousin." she laughed. She wondered how the world could be so small, maybe this man knew more people.

"That's incredible. What a small world." he said, repeating what she had just thought. _I think we'll be friends... _Thought Allegra.

As she opens the door to the laundry room, she hears a slight rumble.

"Aw, nuts." she says sadly, noticing the two washing machines were being used.

"I am not going on the fourth floor... Oh well, I guess I can break routine once." Spencer sighs.

"Well... You could always hand wash them..." Allegra suggested.

"I'm not too well with that kinda stuff... Being the klutz I am..." Spencer admitted, making her laugh.

"By the way, I'm Allegra Christoph. Call me Ally." she extended her hand, barely far enough for him to shake it.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Spencer Reid." he shakes her hand.

"I could... Help?" she offered, not knowing what to say.

"I'd like that..." he laughed, not knowing what he had gotten himself into.


	2. Soap and Water

**If I didn't state this in the first chapter... I'm sorry, I don't own Criminal Minds, and all the characters belong to their respective writers and owners. All original characters and plot lines belong to me. **

**Thanks to everyone for reviewing! **

Allegra thought he was an attractive guy. He was awkward at times, especially on their way back to her place, where she would then help him wash their laundry in the bath tub. _I'm not so sure about this... _Spencer thought, as he willingly followed the lioness into her den. He was never too good with girls, and had a few girlfriends, but none of them set off the feelings he's read about called love.

"Well, here we are." she said pulling out a key. Allegra realized that he lived down the hall from her. She unlocked the door, opened it and ushered him in. The place was decorated with various paintings and portraits.

"Did you paint all of these?" he asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Nope, my mother did... She moved away with my brother when I was little." she said, running her hands through her hair, and sighing.

"I see... I'm sorry for asking." Spencer whispered. She didn't seem to be too affected by it anyways.

"Well, you can look around... I don't have anything of sentimental value here anyway... Feel free to take anything!" Allegra joked, Spencer laughed, making her smile.

She made her way into her room, posters adorned the wall of various singers and bands, she opened a rose wood cabinet and picked out black Bermuda shorts and a blue halter top, her favorite colors.

Meanwhile, Spencer was doing exactly what she said to do, not steal, but he was examining the paintings, their images burning in his mind, he could see exactly what the artist was thinking at the time. Then he stopped at one painting that caught his eye. It was a picture of the night sky, stars were hung delicately across the scene, a deep blue lake, surrounded by green grass reflected the silhouette of a full moon. His eyes wandered to the signature, it was different from all the others and messily spelled out the initials 'AC'

Allegra saw him eying her last painting, something she did long ago, it held a symbolic meaning to her, and reminded her greatly of her first love, a feeling that she hadn't felt in many years. She'd suppose it was a teenage fantasy and kept it there for a rainy day.

"Well, you ready to get wet?" Allegra laughed jokingly. Spencer quickly turned around, speechless at her attire, from her once baggy sweat pants, she's replace them with shorts and a halter top.

"Um... I'm not really... Dressed... For it." Spencer said, Allegra giggles.

"Then you'll have to do the opposite." Allegra laughs again, Spencer blushes, under his attire, which was a grey turtle neck and black pants, he wore red boxers and nothing else. The though of undressing for a neighbor scared him, but he felt like he could trust her.

"Would it just be alright... If I went home... And --"

"Changed? Perfect, I'll be waiting." she winked at him playfully as she shoved him out the door. She looked through the peep hole. _Oh my God. Did I just __**wink? **_She thinks to herself, soon panicking.

"What the hell am I going to do? Holy Mother of Pearl..." she shouts as she runs around her apartment.

Spencer walked through the bland red carpeted hallway, barely noticing the dying lights and scent of Asian cooking.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he mumbles to himself, sounding like a teenage girl going on her first date.

He twisted the knob of his door and glided into his room, picking up a blue t-shirt and brown shorts. He managed to put it on without falling flat on his face in confusion and made his way out the door.

Allegra stood in her washroom, glaring at her appearance. Her blue eyes contrasted with her dark black hair which was tied up with a blue ribbon. She loved blue, it reminded her so much of the water, where she grew up with her father, at that time she didn't know what a monster he was. She broke from her dream land state when she heard the anticipated knock.

She broke out into an all out run to open the door, not wanting to keep the boy waiting.

Spencer felt awkward, on the other side of the door he was the equivalent to a teen boy picking up a girl. It was under a few minutes that she opened the door, Ally stared at his appearance, Spencer wasn't sure if her look was a good one, or a bad one.

"I love the color of your shirt..." she said absentmindedly. Spencer chuckled and scratched the back of his neck nervously, "Anyways, come on in!" she smiled, snapping out of her daze.

In the background he could hear water running in the washroom.

"Follow me," she led him to a pink washroom, with a pink and white tiled floor, similar to his, but his was green. She had already dumped his laundry along with hers into the tub, "Now, you take the clothes," she took his hand, and made him pick up one of his shirts, "And you dip it in the water... Then you rub it together until you think it's clean enough!"

Spencer understood completely, taking a seat beside her on the side of the tub, "One thing, if you happen to come across one of my... Undergarments... Let me handle it." he laughed.

"I get it. Same with me then." She smiled a warm smile, her optimism shining.

They were almost finished, but for a few shirts and pants here or there, Allegra decided it was time for a break, and that started with a bucket of cold soapy water. She poured it down his back as he crouched down to wash one of his socks.

Allegra slowly moved away from the doctor as he straightened his composure and shot her a playful glare. His eyes just spelling out the words _I'm gonna get you. __**Bad. **_

"Oh really? Give me your best shot." she dared, seeing the fire in his eyes. A small container on the side of the tub sit idly, calling out to Spencer, he took it and dumped it on her as she laughed.

"It. Is. On." she laughed, reaching under the sink and pulling out a sponge. She dropped it into the water and threw it at him, the cold water running down his back and making him shiver.

Sooner or later, the water was all over the floor, dripping and sliding down the mirror like tear drops. Spencer was above Allegra, holding the last bucket of icy water, she lay on the floor, she had gotten there from laughing so much, still giggling as he declared himself the victor. She agreed completely. He posed in a victorious way as coincidentally, his phone rang with a loud fan fare tone. A tone he'd set for none other than Morgan, the man who'd always been a very lucky man, what tone would suit him better?

"I have to take this." Allegra nodded, praying that he didn't have to go.

"Yeah, alright. I'll be there in a sec... Okay. Yeah -- " he was cut off by the laughing of Ally, who was feebly trying to stand up.

"Spencer Reid, help me up now!" she commanded in a sweet tone.

"Um... Be right back." Spencer ran into the washroom, and pulled the girl up, only to be pulled down on top of her, accidentally of course.

Allegra was in an awkward situation. A man, that she had barely knew, had just fallen on top her her. She gave him a sheepish chuckle as he pushed himself off of her, scared that she might've been intimidated.

"Sorry..." Spencer mumbled, wringing the water from his shirt and going back to the phone.

"Whoa, man, what are you up to? Anyways... Get over here now." Morgan questioned.

"Yeah... I'll be there as soon as I get my clothes on." Spencer had realized what he said quickly, "Um... I'm wearing clothes, but they're wet... I need dry ones. Not like that... That's not--"

"Just get over here, and I'll... Talk about this with you later." Morgan hung up the phone, leaving Spencer in a cloud of confusion.

"Do you have to go?" asked Allegra, emerging fro, her bedroom, holding two towels, and tossing one at Spencer.

"Yeah... Thanks... Do you mind if I keep this stuff here? I mean... If it's not too much?" Spencer asks her. She shrugs.

"I guess, were are you going?" she questions as he gives her back the towel.

"Work." Spencer sighs, her face lit up.

"Maybe... I could go with you, perhaps?" she pondered, it had been awhile since she'd seen anyone from her family, her father was missing of course, possible dead, but she wouldn't mind, and her mother, of course was gone as well.

"I haven't paid my dear cousin a visit, not recently at least." she laughed. Spencer shrugged, it couldn't hurt, and it's not like Hotch would be angered by her sudden appearance in his own natural habitat anyways.

"Why not?" Spencer agreed, then he eyed her clothing.

"I'm not exactly in the mood to change right now, I won't be arrested, but then again, love, I have more than one connection to bail me out, do I." Allegra spoke, a sudden urge to be confident shone through her usually seldom exterior.

"I guess, well, let's go shall we?" he offered. With a big grin, Allegra linked arms with the young Dr. Reid and set off to visit her cousin.


	3. Fears

**I don't own Criminal Minds. Thanks to all the reviewers. ; **

She arrived at the BAU with the young doctor no less than ten minutes later. She was as happy as a drunken man, intoxicated with glee, she hooked arms with Spencer. He chuckled nervously and tensed up as her skin touched his. As she stepped into the office area, she immediately noticed Aaron.

"Hotch!" waved Spencer, trying to impress this girl without knowing it, "You have someone to see you!"

Agent Aaron Hotchner usually never had visitors so when he turned to see his dearest cousin, he was surprised.

"Allegra, what brings you here?" Aaron asked her, she chuckled, and looked to Spencer.

"Well, it figures, we live in the same buidling, and we met in the hallway... We had a bit of... Laundry trouble." Spencer explained, Hotch nodded. Allegra burst into a hysterical laughter.

"What? What am I miss-" Morgan said, as he noticed the black haired woman attached to the youngest member of their team, "Oh, lookie what the Doc brought in. Is this the chick you were with when you needed to put clothes on?"

"Morgan, it wasn't like that, I told you, I had clothes on, but I was just wet, and then I need to put dry clothes on." Spencer explained, causing Allegra to laugh. She enjoyed being here. Perhaps she'd stay here longer.

"Allegra, what were you doing with Reid?" Hotch asked her suspiciously. She laughed even harder, unlatched herself from Spencer, and laughed more.

"Nothing you dirty minded man, I was simply helping him do laundry. Nothing dirty, all except his clothes." she joked. Hearing the commotion, Spencer saw JJ walk in from the corner of his eye, clutching a pile of papers, he assumed belonged to him, she set them in his cubicle and approached the group.

"Who is this?" she asked, Allegra looked at her quickly and noticed her glowing blue eyes, she was a stunner.

"Um, let me introduce my cousin, Allegra Christoph. Allegra, meet Jennifer Jareau, or JJ, and Derek Morgan. " JJ noticed her uncanny resemblance to Hotch, the jet black hair.

"Nice to meet you." Allegra stuck out her hand for Morgan and JJ to shake. They shook hands and continued to listen to Allegra explain why she was here.

"Well, I'd decided, since Spencer was on his way here, that I might as well join him, and pay my dearest cousin a small visit. I didn't know I caused all this mess, sorry, love." she laughed as she gave Spencer a new pet name.

Sooner or later, Garcia had walked in, noticing the group surrounding the small frame of Spencer Reid.

"What's going on here?" she asked, not seeing Allegra, as she was camouflaged and buried under the mass of people.

"Oh, Spencer was just telling us how be met his girlfriend, weren't you?" Morgan implied.

"She's not my girlfriend." Spencer said. Allegra giggled at the thought. Honestly, she'd love to be this guys girlfriend. He was adorable, but she'd never say.

"Spencer, you never told me you had a girlfriend! I'm Penelope Garcia, hun." Garcia wailed jokingly she said as she shook Allegra's hand.

"Nice to meet you." Allegra smiled, blushing. She liked this Penelope, she was hysterical. The others seemed nice as well.

"No, seriously guys, I'm not his girlfriend, all we did was laundry at my house, that's it." Spencer nodded, obviously incredibly embarrassed, even though he was quite fond of Allegra, he'd never have the guts to ask her out.

"I know. We're just messing with you, but you knew that." JJ said, smiling at her. Allegra nodded.

"Anyways, I should be going now..." Allegra started, feeling like she had over stayed her welcome.

"Why would you leave? You're coming aren't you?" asked Hotch, she was surprised, coming where? By looks of the others they didn't seem to have any idea about this either, "Which brings me to why I called all of you here, Rossi and Prentiss already know about this, so they need not attend. But anyways, I've finally convinced Strauss to give the team a three day vacation. Don't worry, she's finding a replacement team if the time comes."

Excitement flashed on all of Spencer's colleagues faces. Garcia especially, probably happy to get away from the computer room.

"Really? Where are we going?" asked Morgan, excited as well.

"It's in Canada... Mansfield? It's a campsite kinda place." Hotch said. Allegra soon noticed fear rise up on Spencer's face.

"C-C-amping?" he choked out, Hotch smiled.

"I knew you'd say that, so I had made sure I reserved the cabins." JJ was happy that Hotch had acknowledged the past events for Reid.

"Oh, alright, I think I'll be able to survive through that." he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What do I have to do with this?" Allegra piped up, she finally got the courage to ask her older cousin.

"Well, since it's your birthday and all next week, why don't you come with us?" Hotch offered. Allegra looked at him wide eyed, he had remembered, of all people, her cousin whom she almost never talked to.

"You remembered! Well..." she started, not sure if going on a camping trip with complete strangers was a good idea.

"It's alright, we're nice people, maybe except Hotch, but he's family, and then you got Reid, who you already know, JJ and I aren't as bad, I'm not sure what Prentiss and Rossi would say, but I think they'd be alright with it." Morgan remarked. Allegra noted his ability to put people at ease.

"I'll think about it." she said. Her birthday was in a, so Hotch gave her two days to decide, it was Tuesday, and they would leave Friday night, for a fourteen hour drive. They would arrive in Toronto to see some places like the famed CN Tower and such, then drive to Mansfield for the rest of the weekend they'd stay then leave on Monday afternoon.

Morgan saw the look in Spencer's eye when she smiled, and he was sure that JJ and Garcia noticed it too, because they were both watching the kid intently. Spencer was due for a vacation, but after the Georgia incident, he wasn't sure how he'd handle being in the forest at night. Morgan had a feeling that if this chick went, that things were about to be way more complicated.

"Okay, so it's set?" Garcia said, Hotch nodded, and the team dispersed into their various cubicles.

"Alright, bye Aaron! Bye guys, it was nice meeting you!" Allegra smiled, wonder how would she get home. Figuring by car it only took a few minutes, she would walk home. As she pushed the revolving door to get out of the BAU, her mind was amiss.

_Should I go? Sure, what harm would it do? Yeah, I should go out more... But I don't even know these people. But Derek said that they were nice. So did Mom, when she brought me on that cruise with Dad. Look what happened. That's different. Oh really_? Allegra was fully convinced that she had gone insane. After he sudden obsession with the ground, she had bumped into a solid figure, a man.

"Um... Sorry..." Allegra said, suddenly wishing she had taken the train home.

Once she got into the comfort of her own apartment, she rushed into her room, perhaps if she slept for bit, her mind would clear up she she could call Hotch for her decision.

Meanwhile, at the BAU, JJ and Garcia couldn't help but question Reid about his new friend.

"So, do you like her?" Garcia asked, dumping another pile of paper on Reid's desk.

"I don't know." he would reply as usual, concentrating on his work, well at least trying to.

"I see, well, see you later honey bunch." Garcia winked at him. Reid was beginning to wonder if this paper work was his at all, and if they were just putting it there as an excuse to talk to him.

JJ walked up to his desk, and refilled his cup with coffee for the third time today, Reid would seriously need to use the washroom later, his sleep would be corrupted as well.

"Don't worry, it's decaf. Anyways, do you think she likes you?" JJ asked, on her way of out his cubicle.

"No. I think she's nice, but she'd never like a guy like me." Reid said, his eyes still glued to a sheet of paper, he didn't know what he was doing,

"You'll be surprised." JJ said, walking back to her spot.

Allegra had woken up, just a few minutes ago, with the thought of dancing fudge squares and ballerina dogs. Terrifying. Hunger stroke as she got up, her hair was a mess. She dragged herself into the washroom, and didn't feel anymore better than she did before her nap. Her head throbbed. As she downed an Aspirin, she looked at herself in the mirror, only to see a little girl, eyes wide open, drenched in water.


	4. Fate?

**I don't own Criminal Minds. D: Thanks for reading and reviewing **

Allegra shook her head, trying to forget the events on the Silver Harp. It was time to decide, would she go or not? She took out a pen and paper.

_Pros: You'll finally be able to be somewhere for your birthday, you have friends, it's a new experience. _

_Cons: Riding in a small cramped car with eight other people... No thanks. Scary forest with man eating bears, fourteen hour drive._

She could always take her convertible, that she had saved money for because in a normal car she'd die being stuck in there alone. That was one thing that she could discuss, she would be one of the drivers and they would alternate between people, four going in her car and the other four in another. She wouldn't ever be alone, she knew deep down that she could trust them. Allege had made her decision.

Twelve o'clock, he had stayed behind the finish the endless piles of paper work that Garcia had dumped on him, and he didn't feel tired at all, despite all his coffee being decaf. As he punched out, he noticed a post it note attached to his card. _Dear Spencer, Sorry for giving you all that paper to you today, you must be exhausted, I just wanted to hear your opinion on Allegra, she seems nice, I owe you a drink or something. Love, Penelope. Ps. I think she likes you, did you see her smile? _

Spencer laughed and shook his head, still denying that a girl like Allegra would like him. As he got into his car, he remembered her smile, like Garcia had said. It was no doubt that she was beautiful. Then he recalled his clothing that he had left at her apartment. That gave him a great excuse to see her again. As he knocked on her door, the feeling of nervousness arose in him again. The door flung open, to Allegra, who looked like she was just hit by a bus.

"Hey Spencer, I assume you're here to pick you your... Laundry, I was just making dinner. Come in." she beckoned him in.

"Yeah, I couldn't possibly stay... I'll just-" she shook her head.

"No, you have to stay. You have to, I'll help you bring this stuff to your house, and by then, the food with be ready. Okay?" Spencer could tell that there was something wrong with the once happy Allegra Christoph, she was frantic, shaking, scared.

"If you insist." he says, worried that if he left her alone she might do something wrong. As he took some of his laundry in her hands, she opened the door and stepped outside, as Spencer exited, she locked the door and followed him down the hall. There was an awkward silence between the two as they walked down the hallway.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Allegra was surprised.

"Nothing... Why?" she questioned, trying to cover up her fear from the washroom. She was truly terrified, she'd been like this a few times after her mother... Left.

"I'm a profiler, I know from your body language that there's something wrong, but you don't need to be a profiler to see that there's something going on, so you might as well tell me." Spencer reasoned. Allegra knew he was right.

"Well, let me explain after dinner at least?" Spencer agreed, secretly excited to be staying over at a girl's house, her in particular.

"Do you you know where_ I_ work?" she asked, she she placed a bowl of hot soup in front of Spencer, he resisted the tempation to drool.

"Now that you mention it, no, you didn't." Spencer said, watching her sit down in front of him. The each took a spoon full of the soup.

"Oh my God. This is brilliant. How'd you make it?" Spencer exlaimed, Allegra giggled.

"It's a specialty of mine. Do you know that restaurant down the street from here?" Spencer nodded .

"I own that. I'm the Head Chef, my partner, just won the lottery, so she doesn't work there anymore." she said as she got up and rummaged though various cabinets.

"Oh yeah, the others brought me there for my last birthday... Hotch didn't say anything about you working there." She pulled out a bottle of red wine.

"I think that suits the occasion perfectly." Spencer smiled.

"Me too... To good friends?" she asked, proposing a toast.

"And broken washing machines." he completed. The ting of the glasses rang through her apartment.

"Anyways, now will you tell me what was up awhile ago?" Spencer said, reviving the topic that she promised to reveal during dinner. Allegra gulped, not wanting to make him think she was keeping secrets from him, especially since Spencer already proclaimed friendship upon them.

"Fine, well, after I came back from the BAU, I was so messed up, I walked home, feeling like shit to tell the truth, then I took a nap. I awoke with a throbbing headache. And guess what I see in the mirror, it's me, yeah, but little. Then I remembered my mother... And my father, and my brother." She stops. Spencer has a worried look on his face.

"What happened to them?"

"Well, I was on a cruise ship, my mother had convinced me to go, despite my fear of the water at the time, she said 'They're nice, believe me.' So I trusted her, turns out, the cruise ship wasn't really a cruise ship, it had been a conspiracy to kill my mother and my brother and I to get her money, my father drowned her. My little brother couldn't swim, so he drowned too, even though I was afraid of the water, I latched onto the anchor and stayed there, barely. Until I got back to land." Allegra took in a deep breath. She was in tears.

"D-Don't cry..." Spencer was at a loss for words, it was the first time in his life, that he didn't have some odd statistic to make things better.

"I don't understand. It's so empty, without anyone... My brother, my mother... My father was a monster to begin with so I don't miss him exactly." she laughed as she sipped from her glass, her face was tear stained, but she managed to choke out a joke.

"I know what you mean... Why don't we take a walk or something?" he suggested, still not exactly knowing what to say to her. She smiled, Allegra Christoph, was incredible.

They reached the oh so famed elevator. Allegra took a gulp. She wasn't in the mood to go into an elevator, with someone or without, "Why don't we... Take the stairs?" she said, Spencer nodded.

The air outside was brisk and swift, whipping up leaves and plastic bags. She shivered and pulled her sweater closer to her. Spencer chuckled. After around ten minutes, it got seriously cold, as Allegra put her hood on, she tripped over a displaced piece of concrete, twisting her ankle.

"Ah!" she yelped in pain, clutching her leg. Spencer was at her side immediately, putting her arm over his shoulders and helping her walk. She half limped, half walked with the help of her dear doctor friend, "Thanks. ...I guess well have to take the elevator." she said, exasperated and eying the glass door that hid the various stair cases and the cramped elevator.

"I guess, but it's alright, it's just the second floor." Spencer smiled, ushering her in, taking her by the hand and helping her. Half way up, somewhere in between the first and second floor, perhaps dead on the middle, the elevator jerked to a stop.

"Oh my God. Oh my God." she breathed in and out, clutching Spencer's hand, huddling in a corner.

"It's alright, we'll just press the alarm... It's alright." Spencer reassured, sort of scared himself. He jabbed at the Alarm button maybe fifty times, until his companion broke into tears for the second time tonight.

"This **really **isn't my day..." Allegra mumbled, her face tear stained again, closing her eyes for a moment. As she regained her vision, the elevator rumbled again, still not moving. She screamed. With every blink, the closed area seemed more smaller than the last time. She was hyperventilating. Spencer had tried to calm her, but it was all for naught. A bead of sweat ran down her neck as her breathing got faster and louder, it suddenly was extremely hot in the elevator.

"Here, I'll just call someone." he offered, feeling around for his cell phone, then remembering that it was in his jacket pocket, which he conveniently left at Allegra's house on the cherry wood coat rack. He cursed as he reached for the bell again, only to be stopped by Allegra's shaking hand.

"It's no use, it's like... Two in the morning and you know how to superintendent is, not exactly the most hospitable person in the world, barely good enough to be called human, he probably is snoring, drunk or something." she whispered, rocking from side to side, sitting on the dirty floor on the elevator, not really caring about what had happened previously in this place.

"It's going to be okay, just calm down , we're gonna get out of here." and to his surprise, at that moment, the lights went off, leaving Spencer scared as well.

"Do you know how much I hate the dark?" he said, recalling various times he was kept in the darkness.

"Do you know how claustrophobic I am?" she retorted, burying her head in her hands, cursing out loud, crying and holding back screams. After a few minutes she couldn't hold it in any longer, Spencer watched as she stood up in the small space and hit the metal door with her fists, "Let me out of here! Please, let me out... Please! I can't stay here. Please." she begged, turning to face Spencer and sliding down, crying.

"Don't cry, not again..." he whispered softly to her, "Why are you scared?"

"Well, I was claustrophobic to begin with, and my mother knew that already, she had told my father, who was a monster as I had already explained, and afterwards... After the 'Cruise' incident, he had put me in a closet, a small, dark, cold closet..." she said, breathing quickly again.

"Shh..." he cooed, sitting down beside her, well, as close to her as he could get, considering he didn't have any idea where she was. His hand touched hers, completely by accident, but unlike the other girls from his past, she didn't pull away, it was as if she didn't notice. The faint jingle of his keys reminded him of the small flashlight that hung upon it. He turned it on, and shone it upwards, illuminating the place, barely.

"My life is so messed up, oh my God... Why don't I just die? Oh God, what's the pint of living if you have no one to live for? I mean, there's always Aaron, but he barely knows me--"

"He remembered you're birthday." Spencer added.

"But still... What's the point?" she started crying again. Spencer wanted her to calm down, but had no idea how. He panicked, wanting to help her, but not insult her, he would never do that. He was so fond of her. Agent Dr. Spencer Reid, the genius, knew that his brain wouldn't help him in a situation like this.

"I dunno, maybe I should just -- " getting cut off. Spencer had pressed his lips against her, and she had stopped completely. Allegra was surprised, but she didn't object, not one bit, she kissed him back. He pulled away, and looked her in the eye.

"Sorry." he said, regretful, but inside he was doing back flips.

"Don't be." she smiled, suddenly, feeling less scared with him. She was still afraid, but with him it seemed she was a new person.


	5. Gossip

**Again... I don't own Criminal Minds P But thanks for reviewing, darlings. I'm just so happy with all the positive input you've given me Wow, chapter five already, awesome.**

She eyed his wrist, seeing a silver watch, silently ticking.

"Do you know the time?" she asked, still trembling but moderately and un-noticeably. Spencer smiled and nodded, surprisingly, time went by so quick.

"Two thirty." he whispered. She yawned, probably stretching.

"Really? Gosh I'm sleepy... Hm, what can we do to pass the time?" she asked, "Uh... Let's play a game. I'll ask you a question, then you ask me. The only rule is you _have _to answer."

"Alright. You go first." Spencer offered, enjoying her company in the dark,

"Okay... What gets makes you wanna just die?" she questioned, sounding like a little girl at a sleepover, and she knew that, but it kind of was a sleepover, she was in a dark place with a friend, yeah, you could call it that.

There were many things that Spencer could say, "Probably the fact that today you might not come home, especially in my line of work." His mind retracing itself to Georgia, it seemed like almost anything he did reminded him of Tobias, the drugs, choosing someone to die.

"...Your turn." she whispered, knowing all well that what he said was nothing but the truth.

"...What gets you_ up_ in the morning?" he said slyly. Allegra immediately knew the answer.

"Knowing that I have someone to live for, and a purpose in this world." Spencer could almost see her smile, he was smiling himself, wondering who it was that she lived for, "Tell me a story." Spencer suddenly said.

"Alright! Hm... What would you rather hear about? A story about me and Aaron? Or me by myself?" she offered, she loved telling stories.

"You and Hotch." Spencer chuckled.

"Alright, but don't tell him I told you this... I was six... And he was ten, four years older than me, him being thirty now, and I'm twenty six, and he was with a girl, a red head, I think her name was... Paula, he liked her a lot, and was with her at a park, we lived together so he had to bring me everywhere, I was a pain in the ass, seriously, so he wanted to push her on the swings, but as he was pushing he, I decided to go up to him, pull his pants down, and run away. So I did, as she was coming back down, she hit him, he toppled over, and she stopped, only to see his Sesame Street boxers." she laughed.

"Wow... I didn't know those things could happen to people like Hotch..." he was calm at first, but then thought about it for a bit, soon erupting in an all out laughter, Allegra was already laughing and soon they were both stuck in a hilarious bind.

"Whoo! That was a party!" she said, out of breath. Spencer nodded, they sat in the darkness, a shroud of silence hung around them, not awkward, but just fine. Minutes later, Allegra yawned, falling asleep. Spencer didn't notice this, until her head hit his shoulder, and there she would rest for the rest of the night. Spencer smiled, yawning a tad as well. Looking at his watch again, seeing it was three o'clock, he might as well try to get out again. He reached up and pressed the Alarm button again, making sure not to wake Sleeping Beauty on his shoulder.

Sooner or later, Spencer had fallen asleep, his head leaning against the wall and his mouth slightly open. He was woken by a ray of light hitting the mirror and reflecting into his eyes. Allegra was surprisingly still asleep. His vision cleared as he saw Morgan, Garcia and JJ standing in the door.

"Reid! What happen--" Morgan stopped talked as soon as he noticed Allegra sleeping soundly on Spencer's shoulder, he resisted laughing. Allegra's eyes fluttered to see Derek, Penelope and JJ. She smiled, not realizing where she was.

"Hey guys..." she said groggily, stretching, still on Spencer's shoulder. They all broke out into a loud laughter, all except Spencer and Allegra. Realizing where she was, she immediately moved.

"Sorry, love, I guess... I dozed off." she laughed, trying to get up, but her twisted ankle pulled her down, "Ow..."

"Are you alright? What happened to you guys, we've been trying to call you forever!" JJ exlaimed, curious of why exactly they were trapped in an elevator.

"It's a funny story really..." Spencer started, "I had gone to her house... To pick up the laundry and stuff, then she invited me for dinner, so I couldn't refuse, and actually, she's a pretty good cook, a chef, then we went for a walk, but she twisted her ankle, so we had to take the elevator, then she started hyperventilating because she's claustrophobic, then we fell asleep... And yeah." He finished, skipping the kiss, hoping that Allegra hadn't remembered.

An out of breath Spencer flashed the team an awkward look as he stood up and held his hand out to the black haired girl, grinning at him on the floor.

"I see... Anything _else_?" Garcia implied. The two shook their heads quickly, red with embarrassment. Morgan shot them a sly look.

"Then why are you blushing?" he said, JJ and Garcia laughing. A sudden slam of a door down the hallway made them all divert their attention, from the end of the hall, Allegra made out a tall figure, dressed in a suit and dress pants. It was none other than her dearest cousin, Aaron Hotchner, he broke out into a run and caught up to them in an instant.

"I got the call, I came here as-" It seemed that a lot of people were getting caught off guard today. Hotch gave Allegra a confused look.

"I'll explain later, cousin dearest. Well, since we're all here... Why don't we head to my house? I'll cook a nice lunch." she said, grabbing Spencer's wrist and eying his watch. Eleven forty five, a bit too early, but by the time the food was finished, it'd be about one or two o'clock.

"You can't deny an offer like that." JJ said, recalling Spencer's notion that she was a chef. The team couldn't resist.

The team sat down at the long table in Allegra's dining room, all chattering about the subject of the day, Spencer and Allegra. No one seemed to notice Allegra turn red as she cooked and over heard their conversation, perhaps every thought it was from the heat in the kitchen. She decided to make roast macadamia and mango salad and walnut tart for dessert, a favorite in her restaurant, and a personal favorite as well. As she chopped the lettuce, she heard Derek mention something along the lines of 'Allegra, cute, like?' She blushed. They couldn't possibly be talking about her... Right? Spencer must've met tons of girls, so what if he mentioned her name? Allegra shook her head and continued to chop the lettuce.

Spencer was being interrogated by his friends. Especially Garcia, who had asked almost all the questions, only to be supplemented by Morgan and JJ's sly comments. Hotch stayed silent but all the while chuckling and smiling at his reactions.

"Allegra's a cute one, do you like her?" Morgan asked, when would they back off? Spencer didn't answer, only to cause the whole table to burst out into laughter. Allegra hadn't said anything, but he was sure that she heard every word, so he dare not say anything in her presence.

"Hey Hotch, do you think Allegra's parents would let her date our dear doctor?" Garcia asked, causing JJ to giggle.

"I don't know, her mother died when she was little, and her dad left them." Hotch said, not uncovering the gruesome details, not with her in the room.

"Oh...That's so sad! I'm sorry." JJ apologized to no one in particular. Allegra heard this, and resisted crying, only to start chopping onions to mask her tears. She finished the salad and seasoned it with salt and pepper as she brought the plates one by one to the table, still limping and having trouble sitting. She eyed the clock, half an hour until dessert.

"Just what are you guys talking about?" she smiled, curious of what exactly their topic of choice. JJ gave her a look that said 'you should already know'

"We're just talking about the two love birds we like to call Allegra and Spencer Reid." Derek said as he dug his fork into a piece of lettuce. Everyone laughed at her reaction. Spencer was already red at the time, and he just turned a dark shade of magenta.

They all ate and talked until the timer rung, Allegra struggled to get up, barely making it to the kitchen, on impulse Spencer grabbed her hand as she pushed herself off the chair, only to earn himself various comments from his friends. The aroma of chocolate and walnuts flooded into the small dining room in an instant, Allegra carried the big tart in one hand and green plates in the other. As she placed a piece of the tart in front of each one of the BAU members, she could almost see their mouths watering. She chuckled, and sat herself down with a fork in hand.

By the time lunch ended it was two o'clock, Hotch and Penelope had helped her wash the dishes, they didn't want their dear Allegra limping around the kitchen too much or else she wouldn't be able to make it to the trip. As Morgan and JJ slipped on their shoes, Allegra was slung around Hotch's shoulders.

"I'll stay with her, you guys go on ahead... Tell Rossi that I'll be there soon," he said, watching everyone exit her cozy house. They nodded and left, leaving Spencer in the doorway, "Reid?" Hotch stopped him from following them.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Thanks for taking care of her... You know, with the claustrophobia... And I was wondering, when we're going on the trip, would you stay with her? Assuming she's coming." Hotch said, eying his cousin at his last remark.

"Of course!" Spencer couldn't refuse, especially to Hotch, not that he'd ever dare to refuse.

"Thanks, so, are you coming?" Allegra looked to Aaron then to Spencer, they both flashed her hopeful looks.

"Hell yeah!" she laughed, "But I'm not so sure about this damn ankle of mine..." Looking at her leg.

"You'll be fine. You're a fast healer. I know. And if doesn't get better, we can always change dates." Hotch smiled at her as he let her go. She leaned against the wall and waved.

Spencer stuck around for a bit, and gave her an awkward wave. She giggled, limped towards him and whispered a meek 'Thanks.' and gave him a peck on the cheek. He stood dumbfounded for a couple of seconds, only to turn a bright red as he noticed Hotch watching them.


	6. Cameras and Twins

**Thanks for reviewing guys! This series is actually taking off! **

Hotch offered Spencer a ride to the BAU, Spencer took him up on his offer and got into the car with him. It was an awkward ride.

"So, you like Allegra...?" Hotch asked, his eyes were focused on the road, even though they weren't going anywhere soon. Traffic was heavy, and it seemed like time stood still.

"Uh... I'm not sure... I think I do. I haven't known her long enough," Spencer started, assured that Hotch wouldn't tell anyone, "And I don't think she'd ever like me, so what's the point?"

"You'd be surprised, I know Allegra all too well, and she doesn't just kiss guys on the cheek randomly." Hotch said, unaware that it wasn't the first time that they had kissed.

"Really? Hm... Does that mean she likes me? Because if she does well... I dunno what I'll do then." Spencer was hopeful on the inside, maybe he'd ask her on the trip up north, I mean, it _is _a fourteen hour drive.

"She probably does... You should ask her out... I don't think she'd say no to a guy like you. Not in an offensive way of course."

"Yeah, but... Where would we go? I'm not some sort of Morgan." Spencer chuckled referring to his 'ladies man' friend. Spencer would never be like him, not one bit.

"Just... Take her out to dinner, it's not like you're teenagers. You can go anywhere you can afford to go." Hotch laughed a bit as his cell phone rang.

"Hotchner." There was a slight conversation, consisting of 'yes' and 'mmhm.' But no more than that.

"Who was it?" Spencer asked.

"JJ, we have a case." Hotch replied, quickly turning into an intersection, Spencer was confused.

"Why didn't you do that before?"

Meanwhile, back at the apartments, Allegra flipped the channels of the television set, there was nothing interesting going on, until in the middle of a cooking show, flashed a graphic that said 'BREAKING NEWS' and with nothing better to do, Allegra stuck around to watch it.

_"A mother and an infant were found dead, seemingly drowned and put to rest in front of a local home, police say that the victims were killed only days before, and are looking for the suspect, if you have any information, please call the Quantico Police Department immediately." _

The information seeped into her brain like poison. _Drowned._ A mother and an infant. Her brother, her mother,** her**. It couldn't possibly be her father... Could it? No, he probably died a long time ago, and why would he kill again? No, it wasn't him. She watched as the camera showed a house, a familiar house. Her old house. No. No. No.

Spencer sat at the round table, listening to JJ's briefing, nothing on his mind except the dark haired beauty he called Allegra Christoph.

"The victims were a mother, a child and an infant, all drowned." That brought Spencer back to Earth. Drowned. Allegra's mother and brother were drowned. It seemed similar to her situation, except this time, the girl died. Spencer wasn't the only one to notice the similarity, Hotch did too. The bad thing was, if they had to investigate for the rest of the week, then they would have to postpone the trip, and that – was a definite bad thing.

"Okay, so we Rossi, Reid and Morgan go to the scene and see if you can get anything there, JJ and I will see if we can get anything from Garcia." Hotch ordered. They dispersed.

Spencer took in a deep breath, relieved to be away from the nosy bunch. Rossi and Prentiss eyed his smiling figure, obviously, it was either he had a dose of Prozac or something was up, Spencer Reid didn't smile like this often.

"Alright, what's up?" asked Prentiss, a curious grin crept on her face, from the time she spent in high school, a smile like that usually meant something significant. Rossi had noticed this too, he had seen Spencer's smile before, in the mirror. It was a smile that would only been smiled if you were in love, and Rossi knew about that.

"Nothing." Spencer said, completely oblivious to the fact that they already had an idea of what was going on, they_ were_ profilers after all.

"Don't lie to us, Reid, what's up? We've been gone for awhile, the least you can do is fill us in." Rossi said, nudging him as they both got into the front seats of the SUV. Spencer sighed, knowing there was no use in keeping secrets from them.

"Hotch's cousin," he started.

"Who is he? Do I need to hurt them? Because I will." Prentiss started, Spencer laughed.

"No! Never, ... He... Is actually a she." Rossi smiled, "Oh, so the Doctor has a lady friend? And Hotch's cousin to boot, woo! You're on fire now, aren't you kid?"

"Ha ha. She's not one bit like Hotch, complete opposite I guess, and she's more than just a bimbo, in case you were wondering, but she's a nice girl, I don't think she'd ever like a guy like me." Spencer sighed, his eyes focused on the road.

* * *

He watched her from her window, he had delicately placed a camera in her bedroom. His pride and joy, his photocopy, his daughter. He loved her, her mother and brother on the other hand, no. After the birth of baby Jamie, Alexandria, his wife changed, never talking to him or Allegra, they would bond and stay together in the midst of their dilemma.

He remembered pushing the two into the icy ocean, she wasn't meant to go in too.

_He held her up in the sky, smiling at her. She cried, and cried, and cried. Why was she crying? He tilted her downward to see the drowning figures of his wife and son, and he laughed. Her arms flailed as she tried to reach her struggling mother, it was no use, but in between her flailing and screaming, Peter lost grip of his baby angel. _

He would admit that he** did** kill his wife and son, but not his daughter, and he was glad that she was alive. He watched her as the camera panned to the left, she sat in her room, alone, as usual and looked herself in the mirror. His baby angel. Allegra Christoph, his daughter.

* * *

As Spencer watched the moving scenery, he could already see the police tape in front of the house. Sighing as he got out of the car, he saw a young girl, a spitting image of Allegra, peering through the window.

"Hey... Rossi, can I go question the girl? Maybe she saw the unsub." Rossi nodded and watched Spencer as he ducked under the yellow tape and knocked on her door.

He couldn't help himself, a girl like her, looking like the love of his life. As the words passed through his mind he shook them off knowing that there was some strange logical answer underneath the huge coincidence.

She heard a knock on the door, she was scared. The police tape, the CSI, it was all so strange to her. The other day she heard a neighbor telling her that she should be careful because rumors were going around that the guy who killed the family was the father of a girl who lived in her house and they looked identical, and that he might go after her.


	7. Restaurant Troubles

**Thanks for reviewing as usual, and if you haven't, go on ahead a do it! Start today! Hehe, I want to thank Sue1313, for reviewing every chapter! **

Her leg still hurt, Aaron sternly advised her to sit and rest, and that they had another case so it was likely that they would have to change the date of the trip, which was good for her. Her ankle was swelled up like a tomato. She rested her foot on the coffee table as she iced it with a bag of frozen walnuts.

Allegra was utterly and completely bored out of her skull. Cooking was out of the question, since being in the kitchen required her to move around quickly, and it was virtually impossible to get to the restaurant. She had left full responsibility to her sous chef Graig, a proud homosexual who spent most of his time ogling at the customers. She had hoped he wouldn't get into _too _much trouble.

She was still in a slight daze after seeing the newsflash, but she wasn't as alarmed as she was before. Allegra sighed as she pulled out a box of chocolate fudge. She smiled as she bit into the sugary candy. She could learn to live like this. A Friday alone without work was new to her. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

She limped towards the door, looking through the peep hole, only to see the mail man. It was way too late for mail...

"Special Delivery, sign here, and here. Thanks! Have a nice day!" he quickly said, tipping his baseball cap to her. She nodded and shut the door slowly, confused about how would send her a parcel. There was no return address.

She opened it, tearing apart the bubble wrap, making sure to save it for later, she loved bubble wrap, but that wasn't the point. Allegra's package was a single video cassette.

She popped it into her television, only to see a black screen. It suddenly turned into a black and white video of... Her? What the hell was going on? It skipped to the past few days, from when she was with Spencer and to the day before when she was sleeping.

_...What the hell? What kind of sick joke is this_? She was cut off in mid thought when the recordings of her changed to an audio recording.

"Dearest Allegra, you may be curious of who I am, and what kind of game I'm playing, but darling, this is no game. You cannot remove the cameras for if you do, someone will die. I've already showed you what could happen, I'm hoping you watched the news today, dear? You did? Great. I know you did. If you're still curious about who I am, do not fret, dearest, for there is no reason to panic, as long as you are a good girl and follow my orders, it will all be okay. I love you." A sick voice ran through out her apartment. She was stunned, and reached for the phone.

Meanwhile, Spencer sat down with the girl. She looked like Allegra, except for her a beauty mark on her chin. She smiled like her, and talked like her, even laughed like her. It was like he was talking to a carbon copy of her.

"Did you happen to see anyone last night?" Spencer asked her. She, otherwise known as Cassie Reynolds.

"No, not at all. I was sleeping like a log last night." She said, fear obvious in her voice.

"Alright, does anyone in the neighborhood look or act suspicious towards you or when you're around?" She shook her head. He was getting nowhere fast with her.

"Okay, well, thanks for that, we'll call you if anything comes up, um, here's my number along with Agent Hotchner's number in case you remember something or something occurs again." Spencer handed her a small sheet of paper and left her house. He did not just give her his number. As he exited he noticed Rossi on his cell phone.

"It's Hotch, he wants you ASAP." Rossi threw him the keys to the SUV. Spencer was curious of why he wanted him.

"Hotch, what's going on?" Spencer asked immediately as he entered the BAU.

"Ooh, there's the sly doctor now! I heard you were talking to another girl! What happened to Ms. Christoph?" asked Morgan, carrying a pile of paper and folders.

"I wasn't talking to her like that, I only gave her my number, and that's it!" Spencer protested, soon realizing his wrong wording.

'We can talk about this later guys, right now, Reid and I need to talk." Hotch said, pulling him out of the room.

"What is this all about?" Spencer asked.

"It's about Allegra, she called me awhile ago, and she says she might know something about our unsub, and as her cousin, I take this very personally, so if she's in any danger, I'm putting you in as not, her body guard, but just a friend for support, she's been through a lot, and I'm afraid that she might breakdown, I know she's capable of taking care of herself physically but mentally, I'm not so sure. Are able to handle it?" Hotch asked. Now, he was putting a lot of weight on the young doctors shoulders.

"I think so, do you think _I _should really be the one doing this? I mean, what if she's in danger and she can't help herself, I'm not exactly the strongest person in the team." Spencer admitted.

"I'm aware of that, but I only need you there for moral support, to guide her and help her, nut to protect her, I'll be the one to handle that."

She sat in her living room, not moving at all. She stared blankly at the television set, the remote in hand, trying to recognize the voice, she had replayed it almost ten times, hearing the man call her 'darling' and 'dear' then telling her that he loved her in, almost in a father like sense, but her father was a monster and tried to kill her so he was out of the question.

She was going for her eleventh time, when she heard a pounding on the door. Slowly, she walked towards the door, peering though the peep hole again, seeing Aaron and Spencer waiting patiently at the door. She unlocked it cautiously, and let them in. They both sat on the leather couch.

"Alright, let's see this video." Hotch said, picking up her remote, and pressing play. She didn't bother to listen to it.

"Oh my God." Hotch gasped, slightly shocked, "Why don't we just remove these cameras?"

"_No!_" She protested just as the video feed stopped, and changed into the audio.

"By the way he tells her not to panic, and how he tells her to be a 'good girl' he's obviously someone who knows her well enough to know that she would explode if she saw this. Have you met anyone... That had ever called you by these terms?"

"No, only my family, oh and Graig, but you know how he is." She smiled to Hotch, who sat resting his elbow on the arm chair and pondered upon who may have done this.

"Alright, I'll bring this video an analyst and see if they can get anything out of this. Reid, you stay here with Allegra and we'll call you if we need anything." Hotch said sternly, knowing exactly what he was doing, Spencer on the other hand was a tad nervous to be with a girl, alone, again... Semi-Protecting her, remembering what he did the last time he was told to guard someone. Transference.

"Okay, Hotch." He let himself out, and left the two alone... To talk.

"Anyways... How... Are you feeling?" Spencer asked her awkwardly.

"Er... Basically... Alright, after you get past the fact that you're being stalked... How are you supposed to feel?" She laughed.

"What do you want to do?" he questioned her, she immediately knew the answer.

"I'll take you the the restaurant." Le Loupe Roux, or The Red Wolf.

"Are you sure you can manage walking there?" He asked. She nodded, it was only a block away, but he was a gentleman.

"Who ever said we're walking?" she grinned, grabbing hold of his arm, and using him for support and slipping on his shoes.

The trip down the stairs was perilous, and to the parking lot was even worse. She tripped over rocks and almost everything she stepped on made her cringe. She lead him to a silver convertible, eh stared at her with wide eyes.

"It's the tips." she shrugged, pulling out her keys and pressing the button making the car beep.

"Dear Spencer, would you kindly drive this baby for me?" she asked playfully. He nodded and started the car. Allegra was excited to introduce Spencer to Graig, and wondered what he would say.

"So, what are we going to do there?" he asks as he backs up the car.

"Well, I was planning to introduce you to Graig, he'll love you, I promise." She smiled as she put her arms behind her head and let the wind dance through her hair.

As the pulled up in the parking lot of the restaurant, a tall, blonde and especially chipper man exploded from inside.

"Allegra, darling! How is you're ankle? Ooh, it's swollen! Ouch." he said, in a feminine tone.

"Who is this?" asked a curious Spencer. Allegra didn't have the time to say who he was, in an instant, Graig grabbed Spencer's hand.

"Oh! Is this you're new beau? He's totally yummy. I'm Graig." he grinned.

"I see, is this what you meant by 'he'd love me?'" Spencer questioned, "I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, by the way."

"And a doctor too-" Graig started.

"Yeah, pretty much, and no darling, he isn't my boyfriend, but he's Aaron's co-worker. We're here to check up on you, love. Jeez, my ankle hurts like a bitch." Spencer had never heard her talk this way, she was a particularly subtle person, but he liked her more this way.

"I'll take you in, darling. Dearest Spencer, are you joining us for dinner?" asked Graig, dragging her inside.

"Um... No, I'm alright, I already had lunch with Allegra-"

"Slow down, Ace! You're staying here." She smiled at him. Ace. He could get used to that.

"She's right, baby, you _have _to stay." Graig called out, taking him as well. Allegra giggled as Spencer's expression changed from calm and some what shy to happy and excited.

"Alright, I'm going to help my dear Gregory, you can sit around, maybe... Browse the menu, word?" she joked.

"Okay." Spencer mumbled, his eyes wandering around the place. It was a homey looking place, contrasting between white and a dark brown, the floor was carpeted a dark red and the tables were covered with a beige cloth. The windows were large arcs protruding from the floor to about five inches from the ceiling, from where three large crystal chandeliers hung.

Ten minutes later, Allegra came back from the kitchen, via crutches.

"Where'd you get those?" he asked her. She shrugged. Actually, she'd found them in the supply closet during a search for the pink spatula that she loved using when flipping things.

"I found them in the closet, perfect size too!" She was happy, he was happy, life was perfect.

"So, do you have a girlfriend?" she asked, now, why ask Spencer Reid a silly question like that? Unless... Could it possibly be that Allegra Christoph was infatuated with the young doctor? Well, that's what it seemed like.

"No, do you have a boyfriend?" he retorted. She shook her head, after finally working up the guts to ask him that question, she did the only thing that she could do. Run away, well, hobbled but that wasn't the point. She excused herself and ran into the restroom.

**Okay, well, that's the end of the chapter! I'm conducting a bit of a poll, what do you guys want to read more about? Spencer and the others? Spencer and Allegra, Allegra and Hotch, Allegra and the others, Allegra and her stalker? Allegra and Graig? Spencer and Hotch? Whoooa, that's a lot to choose from! I'll be waiting for your replies in the ****REVIEWS!! **** Thanks. **


	8. It's A Facinating Place

**I'm thrilled that you like this story so much! Thanks for sending in your opinions, and continue doing so, I'd like to please you as much as you please me! **

**I'm sorry for not updating in years! It's been a hell of a busy time for me, I've been on a slight hiatus trying to figure out what will happen in the story to make it one of your favorites. I've been killing myself practicing for auditions and stuff, so here it is... The _very _long awaited chapter eight of Lovers and Other Strangers! Keep up those reviews and feel free to ask me any questions. **

Hotch was with Garcia, looking at the video, trying some audio recognition program that she had downloaded. It wouldn't exactly pinpoint who it was, but it was a whole lot of help. His mind kept on going back on what Reid had said, 'Someone who was close to her, or knows her well enough.' He'd known her ever since she came to his house when she was five with a Child Services worker, he hadn't known about what happened until she was thirteen. She didn't have any where to go, and was found wandering in the alleyways and was brought to him.

Their relationship together was like brother and sister. He had grown up in a well run household, going to church every Sunday, and going on outings on Saturday. His parents were divorced, and every week, he and and his brother had switched places every week, he was the older one, so Allegra was stuck with him. She was a pest, but a thing that he'd never dream of letting go of. She'd support him, and he'd to her, she was like the sister he never had.

Now when he heard about what happened to her, he looked back to the times to when he would play catch with that man that she called her father, and how he could take her away at any moment. Hotch was extremely concerned about how it could affect her in the future, and was constantly protecting her, until one day she had confronted him, telling him that she was old enough to take care of herself physically. She didn't mention mentally though.

That's why he had assigned Reid to spend time with her, to get into her head. He knew these kinds of things, and it was obvious that they liked each other. The way she smiled, the way she acted, it was pure love.

"Alright, Garcia, call me if you get anything." he said, leaving her office. It was... Stuffy in there. He walked into the break room, and poured himself a cup of coffee, it was cold. He sighed as he chugged it and threw the cup in the trash bin.

Meanwhile, at the restaurant, Graig came in, wrapped in a white apron and holding a platter of ribs and a bowl of salad.

"Okay, baby, you'll eat this for now, I think the spaghetti is just about finished, now, where is my dear Allegra?" he asked, his head flailing around like a fish out of water.

"Uh, she went to the rest room." Spencer mumbled. Graig nodded, and took that time to sit down with Spencer. He knew that was coming. As he looked into his blue eyes, he could see mischief, and tons of it.

"You like her. She likes you. I know it." Graig said. Spencer's heart skip a beat.

"R-Really?" he asked.

"Of course, darling, you're a babe," he laughed, sipping from Allegra's glass of water, "But that's besides the point, I can tell she's purely infatuated with you, have you seen her eyes when she looks at you? That's what she looked like when she saw those blue pumps in the store window the other day, and you know what she did? She went and got them. But you're a whole different story, I bet if that girl was Superman, you'd be burnt to a crisp under her gaze. Boy, listen to me, she loves you as much as I love David Beckham."

Spencer took that time to take everything in. Graig was a very good friend of Allegra's, and he knew his stuff, could he be the camera man? No. But he did know a lot about her, Spencer knew he could trust him. A vibration in Graig's apron startled both of them. He pulled out his cell phone, which had a puffy pink rabbit dangling from it.

"Aaron! Spencer? You know him too? I just met him, he's wonderful, oh, you want to talk to him then? Okay." Spencer took the phone from his hands.

"Hotch?"

"Uh, yeah, is Allegra there?" Spencer almost forgot.

"She's in the washroom." he said bluntly.

"What? And you left her alone? Why? I assigned you to this job for a reason, now go get her out of there, before it's too late!" Hotch ordered loudly. Spencer flinched under the force of his words, and guilt washed though him like the cold tide of the ocean.

Spencer stood up abruptly, the chair crashing against the red carpeted floor. He dashed to the rest room, and hit the door with his fist.

"Allegra! Get out of there. Now!"

She splashed a handful of water on her face, and glared at her miserable reflection. She had to leave. The door was right there, calling out to her. She was about to leave, when it flung open. There stood a disgruntled Spencer Reid, out of breath and smiling.

"Oh, good, you're alright... Uh... The food is ready." he said to her, she nodded, and wiped her face with her sleeve. She sighed as she walked though the door and followed Spencer to their table. It didnt take her much to get back to her normal self, she talked and joked with the two as is nothing happened.

"So, you never answered my question." Spencer started when Graig was out of earshot. Allegra sighed, she tried to avoid this question.

"Let's just say, Cupid and I don't really talk much, if you know what I mean. I've had boyfriends before, of course, who's in their mid-twenties and has never had a girlfriend?" Spencer sheepishly chuckled. Allegra looked at the brown haired man in shock. _No. He's lying. Sure he's a bit of a dork, but it's a cute kind of dork. _She thought.

"What are you saying in that chuckle?" she asked.

"I'm saying, that I've never had a girlfriend." Her eyes widened again. Sure, Spencer had a few 'flings' and had been on dates before, but he was an old school kind of guy, and only called someone his 'girlfriend' after he's formally asked them.

"You have to be kidding."

"What are _you _saying by that?" he asked. She turned a crimson red. Spencer laughed at her.

"I'm not saying that I find you – Not that you aren't – Aw, I'm in deep shit now, aren't I." she mumbled. Spencer laughed even harder, Allegra was a beet red, she liked Spencer, that was all it. She liked him, and there was no turning back from here.

Spencer knew it was the perfect time to ask her out. It had struck him suddenly, on his way to the washroom last night, he was completely taken by Allegra, whom everyone thought was a big pushover, being related to Hotch and all, but she wasn't. She was an extrovert, she loved to talk, and was beaming all the time. The complete opposite of himself. He spent the whole night concocting a scheme that wouldn't sound too stupid, but not to subtle either, because he knew that she liked spontaneous guys, and this would be **very **spontaneous.

"No... Not exactly." he put on a sly smile, this part of him, that he didn't even knew existed was pouring out of him at a hundred miles per hour, and there was nothing he could to to stop it.

"And, what do you mean by that, dear doctor." she asked him, putting on an equally sly smirk as she took a sip of her water, a lemon floating in the glass, as she chased it around with her straw.

"Well, I know this place that's really... Fascinating, and I think you'd find it interesting too." Spencer said vaguely.

"Mister Reid, are you asking me out?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. Graig watched the two from the small round kitchen window, a grin plastered on his face.

"I guess, I mean... I don't know, did I? I'm not really good with this stuff." The brown haired man said, clasping his hands together, his palms sweaty from being nervous. He'd never asked a girl out before, so obviously he was nervous. Allegra on the other hand, was rather amused, and excited.

She licked her lips, and giggled, "No, you aren't and yes, I will." Spencer looked at her confused.

"W-Was that a yes?" He choked out.

"Mm-hm, so... Where _is _this fascinating place you speak about? It can't possibly be as fascinating as the BAU offices, can it?" She asked. Spencer laughed, ecstatic. Allegra looked the same, as the ear to ear grin was permanent.

"Uh, it's a surprise." He said, not really sure himself of where he was going to bring her.

"Surprise? I love surprises. You sure know your stuff Spencer, are you talking about me behind my back with Aaron?"

"N-No! Of course not, I'd never do that." He said, she laughed.

"I was kidding! Anyways, here comes the food." Allegra said, looking at Graig who had a platter in both hands, a look that was indescribable on his face.

She hobbled up, grabbing her crutches, and waved to Graig, who pulled back her chair and watched her struggle to move.

"See ya, love." He said simply, and looked to Spencer, "And you too, sweet cheeks."

"Okay! Bye, hun." Allegra replied, blowing him a kiss, and turning to Spencer, who had his hands in the pocket of his khaki pants. He looked up, waving quickly as he opened the door for the black haired girl. She thanked him as she went though slowly. He could smell her shampoo, it smelled like peaches and vanilla.

Again, Allegra tossed him the keys, and opened the passenger door for herself, putting the crutches in the back seat.

"Well, that was nice." Spencer said, starting the car. Allegra nodded, smiling. She was smiling all the time, no matter what had or might happen to her, but after all, her name _did _mean happy.

"Yep, Graig is great you know? But he can get a bit chatty. I'm sure that by the time I get back to work, everyone will know about our date." She giggled, "Speaking of which; when will you take me to this surprise place?"

"Well, how about tomorrow night?" He asked.

"Sounds good. So, I've been wondering, how's she taking it?" She asked, at first, he didn't know what she was talking about, but then the look on her face gave it away. Cassie.

"Um, well... Not exactly, but one things for sure, it's really strange how there's a girl who looked exactly like you in your old house." He said, his eyes on the road.

"Yeah... It's almost like it's planned, you know? I mean, first it's those bodies, then the cameras, then the video... Sometimes I get scared, like what if whoever the hell did this... Will find a way to make my life even worse." Allegra said, sighing. Spencer looked at her briefly, a small sideways smile still on her face.

"How do you do it?" He questioned, out of the blue. Allegra was confused, do what? She wasn't known for anything remarkable, so... What was there to know? And besides, he was a genius after all, if there was something that she could do, that he couldn't, what was it?

"Do what?"

"Always be able to keep a smile on your face, even when it seems like everyone is out to get you?" He remarked simply.

"Well, I don't know; it comes natural... I figure, if everyone thinks everything is fine, there won't be any problems..." Spencer looked at her as the light turned red, "And I usually just think of the people who'll help me if there happens to be anything wrong. At first, it was my family, but of course... Then Graig and everyone at the restaurant, and now, I also have you, Aaron and everyone else at the BAU."

"So... You basically fake it?" He said, she shrugged.

"You can call it that I guess, but I like to think of it as keeping quiet." Allegra replied, running her fingers though her hair.

"I see... Well, one thing's for sure, I'll – _we'll _always be there for you." He answered, Allegra kept that small smile on her face as he pulled into the parking lot, and getting out of the car. He went around and opened the door for her, extending his hand. She grabbed her crutches and took it, getting to her feet.

As they got into the elevator again, she started to looked panicked. Spencer chuckled, and stepped closer to her.

"It's gonna be fine this time." He said, she nodded, smiling, and biting her lip.

As they got off the lift, they walked down the hall to Allegra's apartment. She fumbled with the keys as she opened the door.

"Uh... You want to come in?" She asked, Spencer shrugged, not sure if he was taking advantage of her, with all the food and then coming in.

"Ah! Just come in, silly." She giggled, and tugged on his hand, acting like a little kid. The tall man laughed and followed her in. She struggled again with the crutches and groaned, "Aw, screw it." Allegra mumbled and threw them to the floor. She hobbled around slower but with more ease than with the crutches.

"What are you doing?" He asked her, watching as she rummaged through her cupboard.

"Ah-ha!" She said victoriously, holding a black square in the air. She unwrapped it and threw the wrapper to the floor. He eyed her curiously, and walked closer, now knowing this as food as she took a bite out of it. She moaned and fell to the ground. Spencer ran to Allegra, worried for her.

"What's wrong?!" He cried. She smiled, but he wasn't sure if she was in pain or not.

"Nothing, Ace. Try this. It's like love in a plastic wrapper." Allegra said breathlessly, holding it out to him.

"What is it?" Spencer questioned, eying the dark cube. She laughed.

"Don't tell me you've never... Eaten fudge before." Allegra's jaw dropped. Spencer laughed, and nodded.

"I was never one for sweets." He confessed, eying the black cube of sugar closely.

"You will be soon, eat it." She said, her eyes sparkling, he wondered what she'd be like without that sparkle.

"You're treating it like it's the second coming." Spencer said, giving her an amused looks as he took it from her hands.

"It's about the same... Now, prepare to be shocked in a way you've never had before." She warned, her smile growing as he took a bite out of it. The brown haired man swallowed, and as if on cue as Allegra counted down, he grinned.

"It's good." Was all he could say.

Meanwhile, as the clock ticked, a certain black haired man sat in his leather chair, watching the television closely. Hotch was trying to decipher the voice... It sounded so familiar, but then again, he had met many criminals before, so his mind may have been playing tricks on him. He rewound the tape, and played it for what seemed to be hours. Then it hit him.

The affectionate phrasing, the familiar voice... It was none other than Peter Christoph, his uncle. Allegra's father. He was said to be put in jail for up to fifty years, had he escaped, or gotten someone to help him get parole? Hotch picked up his cell phone, quickly dialing Spencer's cell.

They sat together on the couch, the television hummed in the background, while Allegra sat cross legged on the sofa, facing Spencer. She was wearing a blue tank top, and black shorts.

"You know, I've never been to your apartment," She had started, "Why don't you sleep over here?" Spencer, had insisted he gone home, not sure if he should stay or leave her alone, and wondered what Hotch would say about it, not to mention her stalker.

"I'm not sure, I have work and such tomorrow..." He choked out, knowing that his 'job' now required him to be with her as much as he could, and wouldn't really make a difference, if instead make it easier. He liked her, that was for sure, but there were lines between work and personal life.

"Well, maybe we should call your boss. A little sleep over won't fire you or anything." She said, playfully punching him. He shrugged, she was right – as he reached for his cell phone, it rung in his hands.

"One sec." He told her, getting up, and walking into the kitchen. Allegra's eyes followed him until he shut the kitchen door behind him. She giggled and looked at the television. It was on TV again, her old house. Then she saw it. A girl, who was looking through the window. As the camera panned to her direction, she drew the curtains quickly to hide her face. Allegra shook her head, and changed the channel. It was a coincidence, of course. Not like she had knew her father, it was a coincidence, nothing more. But, if she didn't have anything with her father... What would fate use her for, and why her?

It was odd. Allegra was normally not bothered by much, and _this _was driving her mad. Was there a reason besides her living there before, were the stars preparing to screw up her life? She shook it off and looked to the kitchen, waiting for Spencer to come back, maybe she'd ask him something about her.

He paced the kitchen. The cellphone grew hot to his ear, and cooled as he switched. Spencer ran his hands through his hair as he listened to what Hotch was telling him.

"Okay, well... I've found out who Allegra's stalker is. It's her father. Peter, I've already set up a press conference tomorrow, and we believe that he has an accomplice... I want you to get her out of there now." Hotch instructed, "I'll have Rossi and JJ take her to a hotel, I want you, Morgan and Prentiss to be with me at eleven fifty at the station."

"Sure, I'll take her to my place I guess..." Spencer said quietly, poking his head out of the kitchen to see Allegra yawning as she flipped channels.

"Good idea. And Reid?" Hotch said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. Bye." And he hung up, leaving him dumbfounded in the middle of the kitchen. Spencer chuckled and closed his phone, walking out with a smile on his face and his hands in his pockets again.

"Who was it?" She asked him, her hands hugging her legs as he walked in.

"Hotch... But anyways, uh... Change of plans... Since you've... Uh, never been to my place... Why don't you sleep over there instead?" Allegra looked at him, for a minute, confused, but then smiled.

"Let me get my toothbrush." She said, getting up. Spencer watched her run into her room then into the washroom. Quickly gathering her things.

"Ready?" He asked, she nodded, grabbing her keys and walking out the door with him.


	9. Reminisce

**Well... I hoped you liked the last chapter... It was longer than expected, hopefully... You were satisfied with it, here's chapter nine! This too, is longer, during my hiatus, I've been starting to write chapters that were longer than my usual three-four page thing, to make it better for you, and funner for me!**

JJ, Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi sat around the table, watching Hotch walk in with a stack of paper. Spencer was absent, the others didn't have a clue why. It was late. Almost eleven. Hotch had dragged them from the bar to the office again for a meeting.

"Well, there's no need to create a profile for the unsub who killed the two at Cassie Holt's door." He started, the others looked at him confused.

"What? Was he caught?" Prentiss asked. Hotch shook his head.

"I know who it is." He said bluntly.

"Really? Then let's go and get that bastard!" Morgan shouted, standing up. JJ stopped him.

"One second, he said that Allegra had to be a 'good girl' so... If we go and capture him this quick... Won't he know that she squealed?" Asked Rossi. JJ nodded, staying silent though she had many things to say.

"You're right, and that's why we're not releasing his name during the press conference on tomorrow, I want Rossi and JJ to take Allegra to a hotel, under my name, Morgan, since you specialize in crimes that deal with obsession, I want you to stay behind, along with Prentiss and Reid." Hotch explained, a cloud of confusion draped over the room.

"Speaking of Reid... Where is he?" Asked JJ, finally talking after a long bout of silence.

"He's with Allegra now..." He replied simply, a smile crept onto her face as she leaned back in her chair.

"Oh, so he gets to relax when we have to work?" Prentiss asked, jokingly. The group laughed, except Hotch, he on the other hand frowned.

"No, Prentiss. I assigned him to stay with her until tomorrow." He said quickly, acting like it was nothing, and that he didn't just assign him to her simply because he had a PhD in psychology and she needed some mental support.

"Oh, I see... Well, we already have a basic profile... I say we get a good rest before tomorrow." Morgan said, standing up again. The others nodded.

"I agree, but first I have to warn you about one thing." Hotch said, stopping the rest from leaving the room.

"What is it?" Asked Rossi.

"Well, we can't tell Allegra about any of this, I know she'll overreact and it will be obvious that she contacted the authorities. Also, we won't try to catch Peter right away. We'll wait a few days, and see how he reacts then we'll get him."

"Good idea, act like nothings wrong." JJ said, leaving the room. The others followed and last but not least was Hotch who shut the lights and pulled the door shut.

At the apartments, Allegra sat on Spencer's corduroy sofa, watching TV and eating from a bowl of popcorn. Spencer emerged from his bedroom, dressed in a white t-shirt and long plaid pants. He looked at Allegra as she changed channels slowly, picking up pieces of conversation from the various programs.

"I found popcorn in your cabinets... Hope you don't mind." She said quietly as he went to go sit down beside her. Spencer shook his head as she picked up the bowl and put it between them.

"No, it's alright... I was gonna make popcorn or something anyways." Spencer mumbled grabbing a handful. She giggled, and put down the remote, leaving the TV on the weather channel.

"I used to watch this is Aaron when we were kids." She grinned. Spencer saw her smile, and noticed her perfect teeth.

"I had braces, if you're planning to ask." She said abruptly, he was shocked how would she know that?

"Don't worry. I've been asked that a lot. " Spencer mumbled and 'oh' and picked a few pieces of popcorn from his hand and ate them.

"Why did you guys watch the weather channel?" He asked her. Allegra stared at him for a moment and looked back at the TV, like she was searching his eyes for something.

"He had a thing for fishing." Allegra replied, tossing popcorn into the air and catching it in her mouth, "I could barely hold a net without getting scared of me drowning, but it was alright, because he was there for me. He always was... And always is." She fumbled with a silver charm bracelet around her wrist.

"Did he give you that?" Spencer asked her, she nodded, looking at it. Around it had three different charms.

"One for every fear I've faced. Water, is the blue star, the dark, is this black cross, spiders is the... Well, spider of course."Allegra chuckled showing him each charm, "I was such a wimp back then... I still am, I guess... I have three more to go... Claustrophobia is a given, and the other two... Well... Are a bit personal."

"You don't have to tell me. Personally, I'm afraid of needles." He admitted, going back to that one faithful night in Georgia. He shook the thought of Tobias' cold, glassy eyes out of his head and looked at Allegra, somehow calmer.

She hugged her legs tightly and turned, her eyes meeting Spencer's. For a minute, they just stared at each other, not really sure of what was happening next. Allegra felt nervous for a second, and felt herself blush. She saw Spencer do the same. The raven haired girl looked away and smiled to herself.

"Uh... I think I'll go get myself a drink. What do you want? I have basically everything... Uh... Ice tea? ...How about Coke? Root beer? Heh..." He babbled, deja vu-ing to when Morgan had called him when he first met her.

"He he. I think I'll just go with water... Thanks." She answered, a tinge of red still on her face.

"Alright... One second." He told her, as he quickly walked into the kitchen, almost tripping while doing so.

Allegra pulled her legs tighter, if it was possible, and thought to herself. Her three fears, claustrophobia, something that she could easily overcome with a bit of time, and the two that she kept to herself. One, a fear of her father, a fear of death, not to her, but to the ones she cared about, and another that she herself wasn't even sure about yet.

He downed a glass of water, thinking that it would push down the lump in his throat. _I'm already so close, so why do I get so afraid? _He asked himself, drinking another glass. He shook his head, she'd be wondering why he was taking so long. He poured her some water and took it out quickly, not before filling up his own glass with ginger ale, hoping it would kill the butterflies in his stomach.

"Uh... Sorry, had to fill up the pitcher... Change the filter, you know... Clean water is good water." He said to her nervously, she giggled, and took the glass from him.

"Thanks, Ace." She said, flipping channels again. She stopped on a movie, Finding Nemo. A grin formed on her face.

He'd been working well past midnight, though he had already knew so much about his uncle. That he loved Allegra, no matter what his intentions were on the cruise ship, that she had his green eyes, and dark black hair. He was a nice man for the most part, always remembering his birthdays, events that he didn't even need to remember, but he did.

She was only three when she showed up with a Child Services worker. She had a smile on her face, and it seemed like there was nothing wrong. Allegra was frail and sickly as a kid. Most of her time was spent indoors, she was too weak to go out and play with the others. When she felt strong enough, he would take her fishing at the pond in the park.

Allegra did her best to be strong, even when Hotch had volunteered to stay with her when he had plans. She always told him to go, a smile on her face, even through the worst times.

_"Allegra, I can stay, it's alright, Mikey and Lewis can wait." He told her. The seven year old girl shook her head, and coughed. _

_"No. You can go. I'll be alright." She told her older cousin. Aaron frowned. _

_"Are you sure?" Allegra looked at him, clutching his soccer ball, wearing his cleats. _

_"Positive." She smiled, and went into a coughing fit. _

_"I'll go get you water!" Aaron offered, dashing to the door. She shook her head again, and __stopped coughing.  
_

_"It's okay, go. Mikey's gonna get mad." She sent him a toothy grin, her pink braces exposed. The twelve year old Aaron nodded and ran to the door. She heard the door slam shut, and she went into another harsh coughing fit. _

The credits rolled slowly up the screen as Spencer checked the time on his DVD player. He looked to Allegra, who was lying on the arm rest, asleep. He chuckled as he stood up slowly.

"Alright... What do I do...?" He asked himself, looking at her sleeping figure. He debated whether to wake her up and let her sleep in his bed, or leave her there and sleep in the love seat.

"How long have you been watching me?" She mumbled as she turned around. Spencer was surprised again, sometimes he thought, she may be smarter than he thought.

"A few minutes. You know you can sleep in my bed if you want." He offered, she laughed and propped herself up with the arm rest.

"I'd like that... " She told him, her voice was quiet as she rubbed her eyes. Spencer chuckled, moving aside so she could pass.

Then he finally remembered. Hotch wanted him to be at the Police Station at ten, and Allegra would be brought to a hotel with Rossi and JJ. And tomorrow was when he planned their date. Somehow, he'd need to find away past Rossi and JJ. What would he say? 'Oh, I asked her out yesterday and I forgot all about it so I'm taking her now.' Yeah right, add to her probable confusion.

"Spencer?" Allegra said suddenly, his train of thought crashed as he turned to her, looking as if he had just snapped out of a dream or something.

"Uh... Yeah?" He replied, she smiled at him.

"Is anything wrong? You can tell me." She assured.

"I'm not supposed to tell you, but we know who it is." At first she was confused, then she realized what he was talking about. The videos.

"Who is it?" She mumbled, her smile slowly fading as she looked to the floor.

"It's... Your father." He whispered, maybe she'd forget, maybe she'd not hear him, or maybe he was dreaming, or maybe she was sleep walking.

"...Who told you that?" Her eyes were plastered to the floor, he could see her shaking.

"H-Hotch. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have of told you." Spencer said, she lifted her head, her eyes were tear filled, waiting for her to blink. But she didn't, her smile, somehow still there, small, uncertain, but a smile none the less.

"It's alright. It's alright. I'll act like I have no idea." Allegra said, still shaking. Her smile growing again. Allegra swallowed, and could feel her knees buckling. Oh no. She wasn't going to let herself fall. She coughed dryly.

"Do you need water?" He asked her, lifting her half empty glass of water. She shook her head, maybe she'd be able to cough it out.

"It's okay. Probably some misguided popcorn." She chuckled, continuing to cough. Her vision blurred as she fell to her knees. Spencer quickly ran to her side. Allegra coughed again, it felt as if her throat was on fire.

"Allegra! Are you alright?! I'll call Hotch." Spencer said, getting the phone. She shook her head again, quickly and rapidly, going back to coughing.

"Don't... I don't... Want... Him... To get ... Worried." She said in between coughs. Spencer helped her up, and sat her down on the couch. Her coughing stopped, but her vision was still blurry. She felt herself getting weaker. Spencer towered above her, not sure of what to do. Her eyes slowly closed, as she fell unconscious.

Spencer panicked. What was going on? He only had one choice. Call Hotch. He quickly dialed his number, and put the phone in the nook between his ear and his shoulder. Meanwhile, he picked up Allegra, she was still, surprisingly light.

"Hotch, Allegra just passed out. She was coughing awhile ago, then she just-- " Hotch quickly interrupted.

"Not again... Alright, you want me to come over? I'm on my way. Do CPR." Hotch replied, putting down his paper work and running to his car.

"Okay, thanks. Bye." Spencer said throwing the phone onto the bed, where he put her. Quickly, he ran into the dining room, and grabbed a chair. Again? Was this a regular thing? Spencer shook his head and started doing compressions.


	10. Bedside Lamps

**Here I am again. Yep. Chapter ten. Answer to Sue1313: It's both (; Don't worry, a kiss is coming soon. **

* * *

He was on his fifth round of compressions, he was trying to keep tears in himself, as he counted his thirty. He took a moment to regain his breath, when she started coughing again. He traced back to Georgia, when Tobias saved him. His eyes widened.

"Allegra! Wake up. Are you okay?" He asked, shaking her gently. Her eyes slowly opened up, and she of course, smiled.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice slightly quivering. Spencer chuckled.

"You passed out." He told her simply, "Is there something you haven't told me?"

"Nope. I've told you everything." She lied, Allegra hated lying, but only did when she had to. She didn't like causing trouble, which is why she was always so quiet as a child. No one _really _knew about her condition, or how she felt, except Hotch.

"Are you sure?" He asked, feeling her nervousness. She nodded and sent him a weak smile.

"Let me guess. You called Aaron." She said, sitting up as she heard someone pound on the door. Spencer sent her a nod.

"I told you not to call him. It's not serious." Allegra scolded.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do, and Hotch was the only one who would know." He felt guilty for going against her wishes, but her reassuring smile told him that she wasn't mad.

"It's alright. I'm not angry or anything. I just don't want to worry him. I don't want to worry anyone." Her gaze fell to the ground as she stood up. Spencer followed her into the living room where he opened the door.

Hotch stood there still wearing his work clothes, his eyes bloodshot, loss of sleep evident. The dark haired man thanked Spencer and kicked off his shoes, rushing to Allegra, Spencer did the same.

"Are you okay? Why didn't you tell me about this? Do you feel dizzy? Can you walk? Do you want me to call the hospital?" She was bombarded with questions. Allegra laughed and looked at her older cousin, who's hair was tousled.

"Yes, no, yes, no. And it was the first in years... I didn't think I'd _have _to tell you. I didn't want you to think I needed to go to the hospital. You know how much I hate that place..." Allegra whispered. Spencer stood there silently, and yawned. He was confused.

"Okay. Are you sure you don't want me to call someone? I can call the doctor. You can come stay with me for a bit, are you sure?" Allegra laughed slightly and nodded.

"Aaron, I'm fine. Trust me. It was just a mere palpitation. Nothing more, nothing less. " She said, with a hand on his shoulder. He bowed his head in defeat.

"C'mon, don't give me that, I'm a big girl now." She laughed, squeezing his shoulder, making him look up.

"If you need _anything _just call me. I'll be there..." He started.

"In a heartbeat, I know, you've been telling me that ever since I bought my apartment, have I called you yet? Nope, maybe this once, but I don't want to make you worry." Hotch sent her a comforted smile as he stood up.

"Reid, can I talk to you?" He asked, Spencer nodded, following Hotch into the kitchen again.

"What is it? What's wrong with her?" He asked once they got into the kitchen.

"I'm assuming she didn't tell you..." The older man said, "Allegra... Has a weak heart, so to speak. When she was a kid, she used to faint even from slight excitement or after walking around the house... So you can imagine what would happen after all this emotional drama... Did you tell her anything that could have made her angry?"

Spencer felt a lump grow in his throat. _It was your father. _He gulped, trying to swallow. But he couldn't. His mouth went dry. "_Don't tell her." _

"I told her." He choked out. For a moment, Hotch stood still, wondering if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Spencer braced for verbal impact and watched as Hotch's lips formed into a small smile.

"Thanks." Spencer shot him a confused look. Was he... Thanking him? For what? Disobeying his orders?

"But..."

"No, it's better off this way, she'd _kill _me for knowing without telling her, and already had the feeling that she already knew... _But... _Next time, _please, _tell me before hand." Hotch instructed, earning hims a small nod from Spencer.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I couldn't stand to see her all messed up like that, you know what I mean? I just... Thought that if she knew then she wouldn't be worried about who it was... I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry, Hotch." He apologized.

"Alright. I know you care a lot about her, we all do, so whatever choice you make, I trust it's the right decision." There was always something about Hotch that was admirable, maybe it was the fact that he was someone you could look up to, a person full of wisdom that you could tell anyone too, or maybe because he and Gideon were the only father figures in his life.

"Okay..." He said, a slight blush evident on his cheeks, "And Hotch?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think... Instead of going to the press conference, I could go bring her to the hotel with Morgan and Rossi?" He asked meekly, that way he wouldn't have such a have such a hard time explaining their little 'date' that night.

"I guess it would be okay, but why?" Hotch asked, suddenly getting very curious.

"Uh... Well... I had... Um, kinda... Sorta asked...Uh, her out." He choked out, bracing for verbal impact again, maybe it was just an impulse, he was used to it, after all.

"_Now _I understand," A grin was plastered on Hotch's face, "Well then, I don't have a choice but to let you, won't I."

"Thank you..."

Meanwhile, Allegra sat upright on the corduroy sofa, trying to pick up pieces of the conversation between Spencer and Aaron. She heard a few words of thanks, and watched as she door was slowly pushed open. There Spencer stood, clad in his t-shirt and striped pants. He had a small grin on his face. She cocked her head to the side and gave him a quizzical look.

"What's going on?" She asked, her eyes following him as he sat down beside her. After a few moments, Hotch slowly emerged from the kitchen, and made his way to the door.

"Uh, I'm going to go now. I'll call you in the morning. I hope Reid will tell you a bit more about tomorrow's... Er, events." And with that, Hotch slipped on his shoes and unlocked the door. Allegra stood up slowly and walked to the door, locking it swiftly.

"Do... You want to tell me what's going on?" Allegra asked Spencer. He sent her a nervous smile.

"I told Hotch about... Tomorrow night." Spencer choked out. Allegra had the feeling that it wasn't the only thing he meant.

"Aaron said, _events._" A smile adorned her pale face. There was something in her eyes that told Spencer that she was terrified, yet happy at the same time. He worried about her, but then remembered hoe she had told Hotch not to.

"I'll tell you in the morning. Er, well, later. Just go get some sleep." He told her, watching as she slowly stood up, standing limp on her good leg. She sent him a small crooked smile, telling him that she was alright and he didn't need to help her.

"Okay... But where are you going to sleep?" Allegra asked, not really wanting to cause all this trouble.

"I'll be fine on the couch." Spencer replied, lying on the couch with his arms behind his head as proof that he was fine on the sofa.

"Oh, alright. But if you want to switch... You know who to call. Sweet dreams, Ace." She said as she disappeared behind the wall. Spencer heard the door slowly shut. He sighed to himself contently. Everything was going fine.

...

The Earth was shattering beneath her feet, and she was slowly getting dragged into the abyss – or at least, that's how she felt. Maybe, if she had just pushed it a little more, she wouldn't be in this mess, maybe in the hospital, bed stricken, or even dead. Anything was better than this. Allegra had caused to much trouble. So much pain. And it was all because of her stubborn willingness to live.

People had told her that she was lucky, that she was blessed. But that wasn't haw she felt. She felt like she was a burden, a ball an chain attached to her loved ones ankles. Holding them back. Sure, she had people that loved her, she knew that, and she loved them back as well. But her love for them just made her feel worse. Worse in the way that she knew that they'd constantly be thinking of her well being, constantly asking if she was okay and asking if she wanted their help. Allegra didn't want them to worry.

So obviously, she didn't want Spencer and Aaron to think that she needed help. She was grateful for it, but Allegra didn't want them to over work themselves, since they already had so much to do during work – it didn't help that their latest case had something to do with her. Everything was her fault in one way or another.

Allegra found tears rolling down her face. Just another thing she had to deal with. She picked herself up, realizing that the so mentioned 'events' seemed important tomorrow, and should she be dozing off, well... It may give Aaron and the wrong message about her well being. Allegra crawled into the bed, the sheets smelled faintly of Spencer and apple laundry detergent. Sadness overtook her as she cried softly to herself, for that she knew that all she did was cause trouble.

As she slumbered, out in the living room, Spencer lay on the couch, sleep not yet ready to catch him. Not that he wanted it to. What he _really _wanted, was for it to be morning already, so he could go on with spending the whole day with Allegra and then take her out afterwards. Spencer knew where he was going to take her. It was somewhere where he went with a past girlfriend. Yes, Spencer Reid _did _date before. Her name was Olivia Fallsburg, he had broken up with her after six months because she admitted that she was cheating on him.

He could care less at the moment, for he had a wonderful girl sleeping in his room right now, and now that he thought of it, Spencer had no idea what he saw on him. But that was beside point. It was a sort of cliff that overlooked a beach, he had taken Olivia there on their first date, Olivia didn't like it, but Allegra was bound to, especially since her mother was an artist. She would like it; and he knew it.

The whole apartment was quiet, except for a steady ticking coming from the black wall clock that was above the kitchen door. Then Spencer heard it. A quiet sobbing coming from his bed room. Coming from Allegra. He quickly rushed to her, not bothering to turn on the lights.

"Allegra... Allegra... What's wrong?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her. Spencer stroked her hair slowly as she continued to cry onto his shirt.

"I'm sorry... It's all my fault. I should... Have never... Never... Never --" Allegra said quickly, rocking back and forth, tears falling from her face.

"Never? Never what? C'mon Allegra, it's going to be alright... Sh... It's okay. It's okay." Spencer cooed softly, following suit as he cradled her.

"Never should've... Stayed." She mumbled, her breaths were short and raspy and she continued to cry. Allegra was doing just what she never wanted to do – Make him worry. Make him think that she can't handle herself. Make him think that she isn't worth it. Spencer pulled on the chain that turned on the small lamp on the bedside table, her face was tear stained and it looked as if she would never stop.

"Stayed where? Allegra, please... Stop crying." He told her, pulling away from her and gripped her shoulders, looking straight into her eyes. It was sort of a deja vu, back in the elevator. She was crying, it was dark, he had kissed her.

"Stayed here... Stayed alive. Why? Spencer? Why... Why do _I _have to be here? Maybe... If my heart beat slow enough... Maybe if it stopped... No one would have died... That family would still be happy together... No one would have to worry." She had stopped crying then, Allegra cracked a tiny smile. Spencer could tell it was a forced one.

"What are you talking about? Allegra... You're strong. You're a fighter. You're still alive because you deserve to be alive. You're still alive because there are people who need you. Hotch... Graig... Me." Spencer said in a hushed whisper.

"You don't need me. None of you need me. I'm just a burden. A ball and chain... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Allegra shook her head, her eyes glossed over as a long tear fell from her eye and slid down her cheek.

He wiped it away with his thumb and held her face in his hands, "Hotch and I aren't doing this because we think we have to, or we feel obliged to. We do this because we want to. We _want _you to be okay. We want you to be happy."

"Do you mean that, Spencer?" She asked, the young doctor nodded and smiled. He couldn't believe what she was saying. Allegra thought that she was a burden, that she didn't deserve to live though all of her trials in life. He thought the exact opposite. When Spencer had first held her in the elevator, he knew she was special. She wasn't some Olivia Fallsburg. She was delicate, yet strong. She was so perfect, but so torn inside. But it wasn't because she had perfect green eyes, or long black hair, it was because she was one of the only girls who talked to him like he was just an Average Joe, not some FBI agent who had an eidetic memory who happened to put off his laundry.

"Of course." He smiled at her and pulled her close. Here, she felt safe, like nothing else in the world mattered like it was just them two.

"Thank you, Ace. Really." Allegra mumbled into his chest. He could feel her smiling, and slowly pulled away, slightly confused.

"For what?"

"Everything. For letting me stay here, for holding me in the dark... Everything." She looked up to him, a small grin adorned her pale face. Spencer felt his heart melt. There was something about her smile that just sent him to the moon and back.

"No problem." Spencer sent her a matching grin as he looked into her eyes. It was hard to believe that such a beautiful girl was so broken inside. He wanted to be the one who could make her forget. He wanted to be the one who would make her happy.

Allegra rubbed her eyes for a moment, realizing how puffy they'd be in the morning. She gazed at Spencer, who still had his arms wrapped around her. She slowly removed his hands from her arms and grinned at him; pecking him on the cheek. For a moment, he looked stunned, then realized how close they were. He felt his cheeks flush. In a matter of seconds he felt her lips upon his, catching him off guard for a second. Spencer quickly responded by embracing her yet again, pulling Allegra closer to him. It was amazing how their bodies fit perfectly together.

Her lips were soft, and he could taste her tears still lingering in her mouth. Allegra slid her arms around his neck, opening her mouth just a tad bit, and smiling as she felt his tongue meet with his. It felt like an eternity, but it was probably only a few seconds. Inside she felt like she had just fell into a hole, but landed into a pile of delicate rose petals. Sure, she had kissed guys before, but it was never like this. They were all loud mouthed and over bearing, while Spencer was soft spoken and patient.

Spencer pulled away slowly, and opened his eyes to see the familiar smile that would haunt his dreams forever. Allegra gazed into his eyes, trying to figure out what to say.

"...Heh." Was all she said, her cheeks turning red once more.

"Uh... Well anyways. You better... Be going to sleep now. Er, we have a lot planned for tomorrow." Spencer mumbled nervously. Allegra smiled and giggled as he pulled the chain on the lamp, the room fell dark.

"Alrighty. Good night, Ace." Allegra replied, settling in under the covers.

"Good night –" She giggled when she heard a thump against the wall, and Spencer groaning in pain, "Ow.." He chuckled sheepishly as the room lit up for a split second before falling dark once again.

...

The soft sound of water running in the kitchen awoke the young doctor. He opened his eyes slowly, light stinging them. Spencer sat up and yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Last night, or... Maybe a few hours ago, drove him crazy. Allegra was just a whirlwind of emotions, not that he minded getting stuck in it. She was incredible, and he knew that.

"Good morning, Ace." Called a sweet voice. Allegra, of course. He could smell something in the air, bacon, pancakes and... Mangoes? Since when did he have mangoes?

"Good morning." A smile found it's way onto his face as he saw her hunched over the kitchen sink, apparently sawing away at something. Allegra turned around to see his curious grin.

"I went to my apartment to get the mangoes. If you were wondering." He was amazed yet again at her ability to read his minds.

"You walked all the way down the hall all by yourself?" Spencer asked, obviously forgetting her claustrophobia and thinking she went in the elevator.

"No, I went down the stairs." She informed him as she brought two plates to the table and took a seat in front of Spencer.

"You shouldn't have done that. You could've fallen... Or broken something! You could've even hit your --" Allegra shushed him and smiled.

"Don't worry. You know I hate it when you worry." A small smile adorned his face as he stabbed a fork into a strip of bacon.

...

What was she doing? Why wasn't she home yet? She was probably with that devil. That _boy. _He did not approve of this man. He hadn't met him before. He didn't know what that guy was to her. Was he just a friend? A boyfriend? _A husband? _Oh no. It wouldn't be a husband. Peter would not let that happen without his consent. He did not break out of jail just to find out that his baby angel had gotten married to that cretin. He wouldn't let any of that happen.

...

Allegra had left Spencer's apartment a few minutes before. Her sleep ridden eyes stared back at her as she looked into the bathroom mirror. She was getting less sleep everyday. The raven haired girl cracked a small smile as she ran her fingers through her hair, suddenly remembering the kiss she had given the boy just a matter of hours before. A giggle escaped her lips as she stripped down and stepped into the shower.

The sound of the door outside caused her to whip the shower curtain open and her head to protrude from the shower. Her ears searched for any familiar sound.

"Hey, sweet cheeks. You home?" Asked a certain man. Graig. Of course. He was the only person besides Aaron who had the key to her apartment.

"Shower. Food's on the counter." She replied, relieved that her intruder was only her best friend and not some psycho murderer. _Dad... _Allegra shook her head of the thought and stepped back in the shower, hoping that it would calm her down a bit.

"You always know these things." Allegra heard him call back, she smiled, stepping out and wrapping herself in a towel. Graig was gay, he wouldn't be caught dead with his jaw on the floor when she came out of the washroom.

"I'm magical. You know that, Sugar." A grin adorned her face yet again as she changed into her clothes. She put on a pair of old sweats that were tattered at the bottom, and an red tank top.

"So, I called you last night," He started. She rolled her eyes. She was going to get a lecture. "You didn't pick up. Your cell was off too. What did I tell you about not bringing your cell phone with you where ever you go? I mean _really, _what's the point in having it... If you're not going to use it. Where were you?"

"First of all, too many questions, baby. My mind can't handle it. You said I could get raped and not have my cell. The point is to be safe and use it in emergencies. I was at Spencer's." Allegra immediately shut her trap when she saw her friend's sly smile.

"And _what... _Were you doing at Doctor Reid's apartment?" His eye brows raising by the second. She rolled her green eyes and sighed, plopping down onto the leather sofa and turning on the television.

"Nothing. I just stayed there... Because my... Toilet got backed up. And... I sprained my ankle so I couldn't take the stairs on my own... And... You know I'm claustrophobic." Graig chuckled, joining her in the table, a plate of sliced mangoes in hand. She should really learn how to choose her words.


	11. Questionable Visions

**I don't have much to say for this chapter... But I just want to apologize if I'm getting chapters out really slowly. It's school. Really. PS. It's after she ate. (: So she's home now. Don't worry, it's all part of my wonderful plan. (Or maybe not so wonderful. Depends.) Review! **

...

Doctor Spencer Reid. His name was Spencer Reid. How easy could it get? All he needed now was the local phone book and he was set. Set to destroy the cretin who tried to take away his baby angel. Peter Christoph rubbed his temples in a circular motion as he looked into the various monitors around him. There were boxes everywhere, for he had just moved into this new apartment a few days ago, under the name of Horace Fins.

The apartment was run down and old, but it was all he needed as long as he had his computers and an internet connection. He watched as another man, known as Graig had come into the picture. There was nothing wrong with him, because he knew he was a queer. He'd seen him come by a couple of times, but never did he see Allegra go out with him for the whole night.

"Spencer. Spencer. Spencer Reid." He said in a sing song voice, pushing of the mahogany colored desk and rolling to the shelf that stood lonely in the corner of his room. There, he pulled out a heavy phone book and set it on the bed. As he flipped through the pages he spotted the 'R' section and ran his finger down the list of names.

"Ah ha! Spencer Reid. 383-657 Westwood Boulevard. Perfect." A devilish grin arose upon his face as he pushed himself back to his various computer monitors. Life couldn't be more easy. First it's a mysterious woman who offers to pay bail, then it's the fake identification that gets him an apartment, now it's his own daughter who's aware of the cameras, but decides to say the cretins name anyway.

...

Graig had left a matter of minutes before, saying something about a book club meeting, leaving Allegra to her thoughts. She had messed up bad. In a matter of minutes, her father could be going to Spencer's apartment right now and could shoot him in the head, or kidnap him. And it was all her fault. She only had two choices. Either tell Aaron, or Spencer, or wait it out. She of course, chose the first.

Her call to her cousin went straight to voice mail, as she heard the automated voice then the beep, she paced the room.

"Aaron. I screwed up so bad. Please, call me as soon as you get this. Thanks. I love you. Bye! It's Allegra by the way." And with that, she shut the phone quickly. Next was Spencer. She didn't bother calling him.

Allegra eased herself up the stairs as she tried to get to the third floor. It was still a tad early in the morning, ten o'clock to be exact, but she hadn't realized that until she looked at the time.

"C'mon, Ace... Open up..." She mumbled to herself as she knocked on the door, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the door as they did when she was anxious. Allegra bit her lip hard, not hard enough to make it bleed, but it was close. After a few minutes, the door opened up to Spencer wrapped in a dark blue towel. Allegra's jaw dropped as she did a 360 turn and blushed.

"Oh!... I-It's you, Allegra, n-not that way, I just... Wasn't e-expecting... Anyone to you know... Like come over right now... Especially not you... Er, not that I don't want you here, I like it when you're here... But... Uh... Never mind." The doctor said from behind the door, poking his head out.

"I'm sorry Spencer... I never... Never should have come without calling. I'm so sorry..." She apologized, slightly looking over her shoulder to see if he was done.

"No, it's alright... Uh, gimme a second... Come in." He replied, walking into his room. Allegra smiled and walked in, not bothering to look back at him. She had no time for games, she had no time for apologies or mishaps, he could've been in serious trouble and it's all her fault, so she had to fix it. Or at least, try.

A few minutes later, she heard Spencer emerge from his room. He walked in wearing khaki pants, a white collared shirt and a black vest over it.

"So, what's up?" He asked, coming in to see her sitting idly on his couch, her nails tapping on the corduroy.

"I'm so sorry. This is all my fault..." She started, he had heard this before.

"Look, if this is about a minute ago..."

"No, not at all... It's just that... I think my Dad knows about you... I mean like... The cameras and everything... I said.. Well, Graig and I said your name... And... If I know my family... Which I do... They _are _usually over protective... And I'm worried... That he... May do something... Bad." She stuttered through her words as if she was afraid of Spencer. More like afraid _for _him.

"So, what are you saying?" He had a good idea about what it was, yet he had no intention of getting mad at her. After all, it was a small mistake.

"I'm just saying that I'm worried. I don't want to see you get hurt. Especially because of me." Spencer realized that Allegra was one of apologies. He put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her green eyes. Eyes that he was falling in love with. Tears were starting to cloud her vision, she refused to blink and let them fall.

"Don't worry. Nothing is going to happen to me, or you for that matter. Now that you bring that up, it's almost time to go." She send him a curious look.

"That's right, I almost forgot. You're going to a hotel for a bit. Do you think you're up for it?" Spencer asked her, not letting go of her shoulder. He didn't want to frighten her, he didn't want her to worry. He wanted her to stay right here with him.

Allegra slowly nodded, like things were just buzzing around her, "Is this was Aaron mean by 'events?'"

"Yeah, but it's only temporary... Only until we get this whole thing cleared up." She knew what he meant, and she didn't like it one bit. Allegra knew she was causing trouble, being escorted to a hotel just because her father was a psycho maniac. She didn't deserve this kind of treatment. She didn't want to be a burden.

"I'm sorry..." Allegra mumbled under her breath. He chuckled and pulled her closer. There was a familiar sense of warmth between them.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. You aren't responsible for any of this. I – We, don't want to lose you, ever. So we're doing our best to keep that maniac of a father away from you." Spencer could feel her smile into his chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Promise me something..." She mumbled into his shirt, "Tell me that if I tell you guys to let me breath, that you'll let me..."

"Alright. I promise." Allegra pulled away and smiled. Spencer slowly melted inside as she looked him in the eyes, her stare full of promise and joy. It still confused him about how she could smile after all of these things.

...

"Where the heck _is _he?" Morgan asked, pacing around the car. Rossi just smiled and leaned against the passenger seat door, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Probably with Hotch's cousin. Allegra, is it?" A mischievous grin rolled across his face as Morgan laughed. Reid with a girl was just too hard to imagine, but Reid with Hotch's _cousin _and not being nervous was almost impossible, yet together they just clicked.

"Maybe so, she's a stunner, ain't she. Their lucky to have found each other. Our little Reid is growing up." Morgan chuckled. It was true. It wasn't too long ago when Reid would have his trap shut when JJ walked passed him, now he had Allegra, even though they never admitted it, they knew that there was something going on between themselves.

Rossi spotted a silver convertible roll down the drive of the hotel, and saw who was in the driver's seat. None other than Spencer Reid himself, and Allegra Christoph in tow. He watched as Reid got out first and ran all the way around the car to help her out of it. Who said chivalry was dead? He held her hand as they walked towards them.

"_Damn._" Morgan whispers as he sees Reid hand her the keys to the car. Allegra waves at them, smiling broadly. Morgan and Rossi waved back as they drew closer together.

"Took you long enough." Rossi joked, putting an arm around Reid and chuckling. They trail behind Allegra as she walks into the hotel.

"So, what's new with you and you're girlfriend?" Morgan asked, watching her wave at the receptionist as she drew closer to the desk. Allegra dragged a red carry on luggage behind her.

"Girlfriend? She's not my girlfriend." He replied. Of course, Hotch had told them about their little date, not that he _wanted _to anyways. When he said that Reid was accompanying them, they needed a straight answer, and Hotch would never lie to his team.

"Oh, is that true? So why did Miss Christoph stay the night at your place? Not to mention the little date you have set up for tonight." Rossi countered, sending Spencer a knowing smirk. He gulped and was about to speak before Morgan cut him off.

"And I've seenthe way she looks at you. She adores you. And you like her right back. Of course, I'd do the same thing in your position. That _and _you were holding her hand when you got out of the car._ " _Reid kept his eyes glued to the floor as he almost walked into a pillar, trying to hide a blush.

"I don't really know what we are yet..." He mumbled, stepping into the hotel. He found that Allegra was sitting on one of the leather sofas waiting for them. She stood up and sent him one of those heart melting smiles that he admired so much. Spencer couldn't help but smile back. Morgan and Rossi stood back and watched, grinning sheepishly as they watched the two sit down together.

"Okay you two. Sit tight... And we'll go check in." Morgan and Rossi both walked towards the front desk leaving Allegra and Spencer alone for a while.

"What am I to you?" She asked, out of the blue. Spencer looked to the ground, his eyes focused on the pattern on the rug. Allegra had heard him, it was simple as that, but what would he say back?

"What do you mean?" He asked, a question for a question. His mind back tracked to the three full days that they had spent together. Had he fallen for her so quickly? Or was he just caught up in a job he was assigned to. He couldn't believe he only met her five days before.

"Don't act like I'm deaf, Ace." She said, his pet name becoming ever more endearing then the previous. For a moment, her eyes, usually bright and full of life, dimmed and looked distance, all before Rossi and Morgan approached them.

"Alright, kiddo's, here is your card. Hotch's instructions to keep you two together at all times." Rossi grinned slyly before taking his things and following Morgan into the elevator.

Allegra stared at the key card in her lap, elegantly wrapped in a gold tinted cardboard. She looked up to Spencer who had his eyes out the window watching the cars pass by.

"Well, I guess... We should go." He said, turning to her slowly, she sent him a crooked smile as she stood up from the plush seat and walked towards the elevator. She was curious of course, yet didn't want to pry. Allegra had no choice to stay silent in the meanwhile. He'd tell her when he was ready.

. . .

"Nothing for me, thanks." Allegra smiled warmly at the waitress who nodded and proceeded to take Morgan's orders.

"You should eat something..." Spencer said, pushing his plate of hamburgers and fries towards her. She shook her head. Honestly, she wasn't hungry at all, maybe it was the stress or maybe her worry that made her appetite disappear.

"I'm not hungry, really. Don't worry." She threw him that signature smile as she watched the waitress dressed in a vintage blue and white apron set a bowl of soup and crackers in front of Rossi. It was getting colder lately. The dreary atmosphere not helping the situation at hand.

"Are you sure? We don't want you passing out or anything, kid." A smile danced onto Rossi's face as he took a small spoonful of what smelled like tomato to Allegra.

"Don't worry." She mumbled, slightly annoyed yet gracious for their actions. Spencer glanced at her from the corner of his eye, not knowing whether to step in or let her be. They hadn't talked since their little chat in the Lobby and he was afraid that it might ruin his plans for the evening. Spencer sighed at picked at the lettuce leaf that was perched at the edge of his plate.

"So, how long will we have to stay in the hotel?" Allegra asked. It was hard to believe that it all started in a matter of days. Five days to be exact. She met Spencer a day before. What would she have done without him? Limped up the stairs? Die of cardiac arrest? Be alone. That's where she'd be. No one would worry about her, and she'd be alright. Everything would be fine. But then again – What would _life _be like without him? Without that awkward smile, those honest eyes and that feeling of warmth when he was near her. She was falling for him, hard.

"Just until this all blows over, until your father is caught and in jail. Give it a week." Morgan told her. She felt her throat go dry. Her _father _in jail. In all of this, she had forgotten their ties altogether. A week. A week? A _week, _until her father would be put away... Allegra didn't feel bad, in the least. But she had a feeling that it wouldn't be that easy to get him.

"Oh, okay." She mumbled. The small reply was a barely audible, as she felt the urge to excuse herself for a bit, "Hey, I'm gonna... Go call Graig. I haven't talked to him in a bit. Okay?"

She made her way out of the booth, whispering an 'excuse me' to Spencer as she pulled out her cell phone. Of course, she wasn't planning to call anyone, but she knew if she had no reason, they'd get worried. She pushed the door open slowly and locked the door behind her, slowly slipping down the green wood. Allegra felt light headed, she shut her eyes, hoping that when she opened them, everything would be okay.

_"You sit tight here... Okay?" The person's voice sounded familiar, yet the face was blurred. A vision? Because this certainly never happened before. _

_"Where are you going?" She asked. It was like watching a movie, everything was black and white. Her voice was shaking. _A vision?

_"Just downstairs for a bit. Lock the door. Don't open it. I'll call you when I'm coming up." And with that, the man left and shut the door behind him. The scene started to change, a hospital. _

_"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Mumbled the same voice. _Spencer?

_"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Really... Spencer... Don't worry." _A pounding on the door shook her out of her reverie before she could see why he was apologizing. Things were starting to get strange.

"Allegra...? Are you alright? We're leaving now." The same voice called to her. Deja vu. It was Spencer.

"Yeah, I'm good." Allegra regained her composure before standing up and smoothing out the creases from her pants. Visions. Psh.

. . .

Stupid bastard. By the time he left the apartment, he was already on their tail. He knew his baby's silver convertible. He knew they were off somewhere. He followed them. Then he saw her. Long black hair and those green eyes. Allegra – His baby. He of course, under a different name, checked into the hotel, keeping a close eye on where she went, who she was with, and what she was saying. He hadn't heard much, but he had over heard the two older men talking. They were of course, on to him, but he didn't know they were that quick on his tail. Peter needed to speed things up a notch.

. . .

"So, what do you have planned for tonight, Ace?" Allegra asked, sitting cross legged on one of the beds, flipping through television channels.

"That's a surprise." A small grin played on his face. Despite the awkward tension between them at lunch, Allegra seemed normal after departing from the diner and oddly enough, Spencer found himself almost sure of the answer now.

"I'm impatient." She remarked, setting the black plastic remote on the ottoman beside the recliner. She was watching the weather channel, which in the forecast predicted more rain on the way. She clearly didn't like being cooped inside.

"So I've noticed." He replied, unpacking the few things he had and glancing at her every few moments, then he noticed that she looked a bit out of it.

Allegra felt light headed once more. She blinked furiously, as if it would help. She lay her head on the plush covers, clenching her eyes shut and slowly exhaled.

"Allegra, you okay?" Asked Spencer, he slowly made his way towards her. Her raven locks covered her face as she sent him a small smile.

"Fine. I just need some air. Uh, I'll be back in a bit, okay?" Allegra asked, standing up, trying to hide the fact that she could barely stand without the room spinning. It was a familiar feeling, the same feeling that she had in the diner washroom. Spencer nodded, not saying a word as he watched her walked out the door, and as soon as he heard the door shut, he was right behind her.

. . .

Peter had been sitting in front of the hotel, for hours or at least it seemed like hours, but it finally came the time where he saw a familiar figure come out of the building. There was Allegra, clutching a blue umbrella, making her way down the street. Sooner or later, he saw the tall cretin he suspected to be the infamous Spencer Reid follow after her, in a slow and causal stride. It was almost time. He would follow them to the hotel room, and his plan would be set into action.


End file.
